The Proposal
by Legend of Today
Summary: I heard a howl and jumped, startled. Bad move. My foot snapped a branch and I heard a small whimper before silence ensued. I turned around slowly and quietly, intending to keep going, but came face to face with the werewolf. I looked into his golden brown eyes and I instantly knew there was no point. I was trapped.
1. The Arranged Marriage

**Chapter One**

 _ **The Arranged Marriage**_

I'd been crying for the past hour. No breaks or hitches, just straight sobbing. And I wasn't a crier either. I was sitting in the corner of my room, my wand at my feet. I was hugging my knees, keeping myself in clear view of the bedroom door, lest someone disturb me while I was wallowing in self pity.

My room was rather large and elaborately decorated—dark green walls with silver lining and a dark brown ceiling to match the mahogany floor. On the ceiling in the center of the room was a silver chandelier, small compared to the one downstairs in the entryway and foyer.

On the wall to the right of the door, there was a walk-in closet and next to the entrance was a record machine and a stack of albums. Next to the closet was the full bathroom with a large vanity and mirror. In the bathroom, candles were lit and floating through the air giving the room a gentle lighting.

On the back wall was my bed, black sheets and a dark green duvet made with goose down. My pillow cases were a dark silvery-grey. Next to my bed was a midnight black bed stand with next year's school books and a lamp. On top of _Hogwarts a History_ was a letter.

I had just gotten an owl from my boyfriend saying he got the dark mark and was breaking up with me to protect me.

First, a little background information: Tom Riddle, and alumni from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was gathering an army of dark wizards to take over the wizarding world and purify witch and wizard bloodlines everywhere. My boyfriend's name was Perseus Nott. He'd graduated from Hogwarts two years ago and had asked me out last year at Malfoy Manor during one of the Christmas celebrations.

I didn't even really know why I was crying so much, we hadn't even lasted a year. It was likely the fact that the Notts were one of the last few really "Pureblood" families out there. Personally, blood status didn't matter to me (as long as they weren't a Muggle or Squib) but my parents approved of our relationship and all I wanted was to make them proud.

There was a harsh knock on my door, interrupting me from my thoughts. "Lela? Come out of your room, your aunt Walburga is here. She wants to see you." My mother sighed when I didn't respond. "She brought Regulus."

Regulus Black was a friend of mine, also in Slytherin house at Hogwarts. The only two real friends in Slytherin I had were him and Severus Snape. Narcissa Black wasn't bad, but when she was in one of her moods, she could be quite nasty. Kind of like me.

I sighed, grabbed my wand and, wiping my face hastily, strolled over to the door. I threw it open, "very well mother. I'll be there in a moment."

She smiled slightly at me, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear and nodded. "We'll be in the foyer when you're ready dear. You look rather messy… Please clean up." Turning away, she gracefully walked back down the hallway towards the kitchen, most likely getting drinks for the guests.

I walked into the bathroom connected to my room, and sighed, looking at myself in the mirror. My long wavy espresso colored hair was severely knotted, my bright emerald green eyes were puffy and pink with dark circles underneath from lack of sleep. My usually slightly tanned skin was pale with red blotches from crying.

I splashed some water on my face, getting rid of the blotchiness. My skin overall looked healthier, not quite as pale as before and the bags lessened. I wave my wand towards my eyes, casting a charm to hide my tired look. " _Scourgify_!"

I lightly put on some mascara, a muggle contraption to make your eyelashes longer and darker. None of the Pureblood witches used it because there was a spell for growing and darkening eyelashes, but the result was often less than satisfactory. In other words, they looked sort of fake.

" _Reparo_!" While it wasn't exactly meant to untangle hair, it would do the job for now. That is, until my mother could fix it herself.

Generally, magic wasn't allowed for underage witches and wizards outside of school. The "trace" was something that the schools would use to ensure students didn't use magic but it only detected magical activity, not specificities. Therefore, I wasn't worried about it because my mother and Walburga were witches and Regulus was a wizard.

I fixed my posture and walked out of the bathroom, straightening my clothes the best I could, trying to look somewhat presentable. Walburga would notice, after all.

I opened the door and began heading down the hallway towards the stairs that led to the foyer.

Walburga gave me a distant hug when I got there. I scowled mentally at the sight of her. "Oh Lela dear! How have you been? The last time I saw you was on your eleventh birthday when you got your Hogwarts letter! How old are you now? Thirteen?"

" _Sixteen_ , Aunt Walburga, though I turn seventeen before Hogwarts starts up again." I said politely, trying to keep up my mask. She was a pain, always had been, but as I got older she became a real... Witch.

She laughed quietly. "Oh, silly me. Very well then." She turned to my mother smiling. "Your daughter is of the marrying age, Pandora."

"We have been speaking of it." My mother said joyfully. I stopped myself from reacting—we hadn't spoken _anything_ of the topic. Of course we hadn't. Mother and father seemed to think love was more important than blood status and the prospect of Walburga talking about my love life sickened me.

"Yes, that's wonderful. As you know, it has been hard to find a truly Pureblood family." My mother nodded in agreement so Walburga continued, "in which case I have a proposal."

She turned to Regulus and with a flick of her finger, he closed his book and walked over. "Perhaps if it is alright with you and your husband, Lela could marry Regulus. I know we are family and the idea may be slightly uncomfortable, but I assure you we are very distantly related."

"I'm sure Hector will be fine with it, as I am. Are you, Lela dear?" My mother turned to me and winked discreetly. It was obvious she wanted me to accept.

I was not fine with it. In fact, I wanted to run from the room and cry, or throw up. _Marrying_ someone I _didn't_ love? I pulled myself together and acted thoughtful for a moment before looking Aunt Walburga in the eyes. I scowled inwardly, but answered with fake pride. "It would be my honour to marry your son."

I looked at Regulus and he just shrugged, as Walburga practically jumped with joy. "Oh my! This will please Orion! We must get home straight away!"

"Why don't you and Orion come over for dinner tonight? You can bring the boys," my mother suggested.

Walburga pursed her lips. "Yes, of course. But if Sirius misbehaves..."

I laughed slightly. "If he steps a toe out of line I'll hex him for you Auntie."

Walburga smiled. "We'll see you tonight!" She grabbed her son's hand and they were gone in a flash.

I turn, angry. "Why mother? I never asked for this!"

"I know... But if you had said no you'd end up like Sirius and me and your father... We wouldn't know what to do without you!"

"I understand mother... I just thought this would happen later, with someone I really love." Sighing, I stood up and made my way to my room. I reached my door and hurried inside, slamming the door behind me. I ran over to my bed and curled up under the covers, crying for the second time that day.

* * *

What were the Marauders going to think of my arranged marriage? They were my friends that my parents didn't know about. This was for the simple reason that they're all Gryffindors. The problem with that is I'm a Slytherin and their of the enemy house.

The Marauders names are James Potter (Prongs), Sirius Black—my cousin—(Padfoot), Remus Lupin (Moony), and Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail).

Their nicknames are the forms they take when they transform into 're Animagi, people that can turn into animals. Remus wasn't an Animagus but a werewolf, the reason the others had become Animagi.

 _Sirius came to me with his furry problem, without telling me about Remus, though I already knew. So I helped. He asked me if I knew how to become an Animagus and I said sure._

 _Of course, I didn't_ really _know how, but it was only a matter of buttering up Professor Slughorn so I could "get a book of advanced potion making from the restricted section." All I did was write the title of the Animagus book instead of the potions one. He didn't even look at the slip before he signed it._

 _I went to the library later that morning and gave the note to Madam Pince, who looked at me skeptically, but went back and got the book. I grinned mischievously at her and left for the Great Hall, where lunch was being served._

 _Pushing open the Great Hall's doors, I strolled over to the Gryffindor table and gracefully sat down next to James so I could keep my eyes on the Slytherin table._

 _"Let's get to work shall we?" I asked and pu_ _lled the Animagus book out of my bag._

 _We made a deal: if they were going to become Animagi, so was I._

* * *

 _Sirius waved his wand again and suddenly he transformed. In front of me was a shaggy, black dog. Barking, he ran up to me and started licking my face. I laughed, "S-Sirius, stop!"_

 _He changed back and grinned, our faces inches apart. "What, you don't like me licking you?"_

 _"Shut up."_

* * *

 _James was concentrating hard, I could tell. "You look constipated, mate," Sirius grinned._

 _"James... You just need to relax. This isn't something you force. You've just got to feel it."_

 _James took a deep breath and nodded. With a wave of his wand he too turned into an animal. A buck appeared, or a stag as Sirius called it, and it walked around the room slowly. If deer could smile, James definitely would be. Beside me, Sirius turned into a dog and ran after James. They were in the Room of Requirement so no one would know what they were up to. Peter had been practicing extra with me to help him, so he turned into a rat the day before._

 _James turned and began to chase Sirius who decided to chase after Peter. A stag, a dog, and a rat ran around the room and Remus smiled at Lily from the door. She gave him a grin of her own and went back to watching the animals in the room.  
_

* * *

I thought of my arranged marriage and sighed, getting up from bed and walking down the hall towards the kitchen, ready for some breakfast. Regulus, Sirius, Orion, and Walburga were coming over for dinner later but I needed to eat something for breakfast.

I wondered if my mother would let me invite Severus and Narcissa to dinner. That way I could have some friends with me to help me deal with my situation for when I went back to Hogwarts for my seventh year. Narcissa would be entering her sixth year there, and seeing as her and Severus are two-thirds of my Slytherin friends, the only friends that could possibly understand, I truly wanted them to be there, even if it meant more people would know.

My mother said yes, seeing how uncomfortable I already was, and sent an owl to Grimmauld Place with the news of extra company. Walburga was delighted.


	2. The Odd Outburst

**Chapter Two**

 ** _The Odd Outburst_**

"We're getting married." Regulus said, standing behind my chair right after dinner, one hand resting on my shoulder.

"WHAT?!" Sirius shouted, making me flinch.

"Sirius! Be _quiet_!" Walburga hissed, as he jumped up in outrage.

He didn't listen. "Regulus! How could you? You're letting yourself be forced into doing something you don't want to do! Stick up for yourself!"

Regulus scowled slightly. "Who said I don't want to marry Lela? She's a very nice girl Sirius. You should know that."

"That's it! I'm leaving. I can't stand it here any longer—pardon me Mrs. Vallor, I don't mean your home. I'm moving in with James." The last part of his outburst was directed towards his mother. He took one last look at me, "I hope you're happy."

He was gone with a loud crack.

Walburga forced a smile at me from down the table. "Well! Where were we?"

...

I looked at Regulus out of the corner of my eye as we walked around the garden. "My mother and Walburga totally planned this you know," I said, sighing, still not making eye contact.

"What gave it away?" Regulus smirked. He stopped walking and grabbed my hand to get me to stop too, forcing me to look directly at him. "The fact that they ditched us here so we could be alone, or how Narcissa winked at us before dragging Severus away stating that we 'need to be alone'? Though I guess it could have been the fact that it's a beautiful night with a full moon that I'm sure your mother knows accentuates your quality features."

My breath hitched in my throat at his sarcastic comment. There was no doubt in my mind that he knew when he got here how Sirius would react. No doubt that he knew we'd end up alone. But why didn't he care about the wedding? About being alone with someone that used to be his best friend but was soon going to become his wife?

"You knew it was planned?" I asked, finally breaking the silence that had ensued. "You knew?"

"Of course I knew Lela." He smiled then, genuinely smiled. "How else was I to plan this?"

He pulled a small black box out of his dress robes pocket and got down on one knee, opening the box and looking at me with an odd expression, something between expectation and... Nervousness?

"I guarantee there'll be tough times. I guarantee that at some point, one or both of us is going to want to get out of this arranged marriage. But I can also guarantee that I will be the best husband you could have. A husband and a best friend. Lela Aspen Vallor, will you marry me?" Regulus smiled at my wide eyed look.

I looked towards the house and saw that our parents were watching and I knew I'd have to act happy. Correction: _ecstatic_.

I pulled Regulus to his feet, smiling widely. "Of course!" I was immediately wrapped in a hug. "Nice show," he whispered.

"Nice proposal." I shot back. We let go of each other and he grinned, slipping the ring onto my left ring finger. I would have time to admire it later.

"So," I began as we headed back towards the house. "Was it your idea, or Walburga's?"

"It was my father's idea actually." Regulus smiled.

"Orion?"

"Yes. I didn't think it was a big deal since we're only friends and I knew I didn't have to try to be... Romantic or anything. My father said that every proposal, whether it be by choice or not, should make a girl feel special. My mother couldn't care less about how it happened. She's just so happy you agreed in the first place." Regulus looked thoughtful for a moment, his steady footsteps faltering. "Why did you agree?"

"Well, I can't say I wasn't expecting this question. I just figured it might be later."

"You didn't answer the question…"

I sighed, "very well then, I'll confess: I was too scared to decline."

"You never get scared," he argued, looking at me in shock. It was that look that pushed me over the edge.

"I know! B-but Perseus had just broken up with me because he got the Dark Mark and my mother said you were here so I was happy. Well... Happier. But then your mother started talking about marriage and I panicked. I didn't know how Aunt Walburga would react if I had said no and I didn't want your parents to shun my mother and father so I accepted."

He pulled me towards him, wrapping his arms around my waist. "You shouldn't be scared of my mother, Lela."

I smiled slightly at his words.

He took his hand and cupped my cheek, using his thumb to gently wipe away a stray tear.

I hugged him again before turning to open the back door, heading into the house, Regulus at my heels. We walked back into the foyer where I assumed everyone was and found Narcissa and Severus chatting quietly by the fire in the corner of the room.

"Oh! Lela!" Narcissa grinned, running over to me and engulfing me in a hug. She pulled back, "how was the walk—oh! What's wrong? Why were you crying?"

I smiled sadly at her as I sensed the adults walking into the room. "Because I'm just so happy..."

...

"Hurry up Severus!" I gasped as we walked down the aisle, trying to find an empty compartment. "You know if I'm standing when the train starts that I'll fall. I'm seventeen, I shouldn't be falling on trains."

"It's eleven o'clock right now," he claimed, and I quickly slip into the nearest compartment without looking in and sit down, just as the train begins to move. I sighed in relief.

I look at the compartment to find the Marauders looking at me quizzically, all but Sirius who wouldn't look me in the eyes.

Severus was awkwardly standing outside the compartment so I waved him on. "How was your summer Remus? Didn't hurt yourself did you?"

It was a subtle way of hinting that I knew about his case of lycanthropy, but not outwardly saying it, seeing as I wasn't supposed to know.

His eyes widened slightly but he replied, "no it was fine. How about you?"

"My summer was a bit boring really." I said looking straight at Sirius. "Nothing new."

Sirius was to his feet as quick as lightning. "If you're going to _lie_ Vallor then get out. Go have fun with the other filthy _snakes_."

I glared at him as I stood up to leave, "Is that anyway to treat your cousin? The girl that taught you how to become an Animagus? The girl that was always on your side no matter how infuriating you could be? Thanks _Black_... I really appreciate it."

I walked briskly out of the compartment, continuing up the aisle before I was tugged into a compartment, losing my balance and landing in the person's lap. I look up into his dark brown, almost black eyes. "Erm... Sorry Sev."

He just sighed, but the corners of his mouth were twitching upwards. "Clumsy as always." He didn't make to move me off however, and I sort of forgot about it when I saw Regulus' face.

"What?"

"Why were you sitting with my brother?" He asked, a frown on his face.

"Well, I wasn't meaning to talk to him. I was planning on ignoring him in all honesty. I wanted to talk to Remus but..." Severus hissed a stream of curse words in my ear causing me to pause. "But of course, Sirius had to go blabbing and call me a filthy snake and-"

Regulus stood up abruptly and stormed out of the compartment, Narcissa and Goyle behind him.

Severus and I were alone. Which made me realize I was still sitting on his lap. "Oh... I didn't realize I was still..." I couldn't bring myself to finish the sentence as I moved off his lap.

There was a brief moment of uncomfortable silence before a soft knock on our compartment door interrupted it. Grinning, I pulled open the latch and let Remus enter, watching sadly as Severus left, following the way Regulus had gone earlier.

"Why did you lie?" Remus asked, sitting next to me, getting straight to the point. "You aren't what I pegged as the lying type."

"Apparently Sirius only told you part of the story."

"Try and help me understand Lela." He said calmly.

I took a deep breath, choosing my words carefully. "You have to understand that it wasn't _really_ a lie. When I said nothing new, I meant that this kind of stuff happens all the time in my family. Even if I've never had it happen to me."

"Forced marriage? Isn't there a way out of it?" He asked, concerned.

I took the necklace off of my neck for him to look at and for the first time, he saw the ring. "I already agreed to it Remus. The only possible way I could get out of it was if I found Regulus a Pureblood witch and I, myself found a Pureblood wizard. That or I do something to where I will be blast off the wall like Sirius will be. Then I wouldn't be a part of my family and I wouldn't have to worry.

"And don't ask me why a Pureblood, Remus. You know why. You know who my family is."

He nodded slowly so I continued, "And you're well aware of Regulus' family."

"Yes... But aren't you and Regulus related?" He asked.

"Our relations are distant enough that it will not affect the purity of our children, the entire basis of our marriage."

"That's sick." The expression on his face was one of disgust and concern. Remus moved to leave but I grabbed his wrist, pulling him back into the seat next to me.

"Please... Don't leave." He nodded slowly and relaxed into the seat. I smiled and with that, leaned my head against his shoulder, breathing in his earthy scent. It was a mixture of trees and I guess the smell of masculinity. Not sweat, that was a disgusting substance that simple spells could take care of.

A minute hadn't even passed by before I fell asleep, curled up to Remus' side.


	3. The Patronus

**Chapter Three**

 ** _The Patronus_**

Weeks had passed by at Hogwarts quickly, Sirius not speaking a word to me. I was fine with it in all honesty seeing as he could be very annoying. But I did sort of miss his awful jokes.

It was lunch time and the Marauders were nowhere to be found in the Great Hall. I went over to the Slytherin table, kissed Regulus on the cheek for show, and packed myself some lunch in the plastic containers I summoned. I put in some chicken Caesar salad with Parmesan cheese, a couple breadsticks, and some tortellini soup. I also took a few brownies.

I left the Great Hall with the containers in hand, heading to the tree by the Black Lake. It was a nice day out, surely one of the Marauders would be there?

In fact, all of them but Peter were.

"Wotcher James, Remus." I said calmly, sitting in front of Sirius. "Hello Sirius."

He didn't respond, just turned his head away.

"Hello Lela!" James said enthusiastically, practically attacking me with a hug. Remus must've explained my situation to him. "What can we do you for?"

"Well, I was hoping you guys would continue helping me become an Animagus?"

Remus nodded slowly, "I don't see why not."

Turning to Sirius, I said the thing that had been on my mind for weeks. I meant for it to sound strong, angry even, but it came out as barely a whisper. "Do you hate me Sirius?"

He looked up in shock, "Of course I don't hate you! I'm just confused... Why didn't you guys stick up for yourselves?"

"Sirius, I was protecting my parents from being blasted off the wall and I had agreed before Regulus could argue. We're basing our marriage on friendship, not the actual fact that it's arranged."

"Sounds to _me_ Padfoot," James began, smirking a little. "That she was being brave and selfless, like a _true_ Gryffindor."

I scowled playfully, opening my lunch containers, and conjured some utensils: four forks and three spoons (Sirius wasn't a fan of the tortellini soup). I put the containers in between the four of us, placing the four brownies on a napkin and passing each one out, handed everyone their utensils, and we talked while we ate.

"When is the wedding?" James asked, a light smile on his face, but I could tell he wasn't happy about the situation, but was trying to act pleasant.

"I think we decided it would be the last day of my seventh year. That way I'm not pregnant while I'm at Hogwarts... No one can make fun of Regulus for, you know..."

"That's in less than a year!" Remus choked on his food. "I mean... What happens till then?"

"Well, we are engaged but we agreed that we can date whomever we want up till this summer. But as far as the students here know, we're officially dating."

In an odd way, Remus looked relieved. Sirius looked uncomfortable so James changed the subject. Looking up from his finished portion of the food, he said, "so… When are we going to work on your Animagus? We all know where it's going to happen, but we need to decide on a when. Do we have the same free period?"

James and I pulled out our timetables and compared. "We have our free period right after lunch."

"Thank goodness. Me too!" I said, happy I wouldn't have to break curfew like last year.

"Have you gotten your corporeal Patronus?" James asked, putting his schedule away.

"No, but I have a decent incorporeal." I supplied.

"Let us see. After all, everyone else is in the Great Hall and lunch is almost over. No one will know." Sirius assured.

I sighed, giving in, and thought back to when I made the Slytherin Quidditch team in fifth year. I'm the Quidditch captain this year and tryouts are in two weeks, earlier than the other houses so we could get a head start.

" _Expecto Patronum_!" I said with confidence, watching as a shield formed around the four of us. It glowed a cool blue color but wasn't very bright or impressive. A dementor could've easily gotten through after a couple attempts.

It slowly faded as James spoke. "That was great! But I think in order to really push the Patronus to be corporeal, you need a stronger memory."

"Oh," I hadn't thought about that. I'd convinced myself that I must've been doing something wrong. "I'll get to it."

"Tell us of some of your happier moments Lela," Remus pried gently.

"Well, there was on the train when you came into the compartment to comfort me after Sirius' explosion."

Remus' face turned pink and was about to say something but James cut him off. "That happy memory is linked to a bad one... Think of something else."

"Um, there was Regulus' proposal. I wasn't exactly happy about being forced to marry him, but he let me open up and we said it would be a friend based marriage."

"That's not strong enough." Sirius grumbled.

I sighed, "well then, there's nothing spectacular that's happened."

"Then we'll have to wait." Remus said, smiling. The rest of lunch and the free period was spent talking about Quidditch—who was going to beat whom and win the Quidditch Cup.

* * *

I was sitting in the library after my last class: potions with Professor Slughorn. Parchment and quills were neatly spread out on the table, books stacked on the chair next to mine. Severus pulled up a chair from another table and smiled slightly at me.

"Is Lily still mad?" I asked, not looking at him directly.

His face went sour and he looked thoughtful for a moment before sighing, "she is... I never should have called her that!" He ran a hand through his greasy hair and grimaced, looking at it in disgust.

"You've stopped bathing because of her."

"I what?" He asked, feigning confusion.

"You've stopped bathing. And don't give me that look—taking a quick shower once or twice a week doesn't count as bathing, _especially_ if you don't wash your hair."

Severus looked down in shame. "I just don't think about it anymore."

"I know... Which is why I'm going to help you."

Severus looked at me with wide eyes.

"Oh I don't mean like _that_! I just mean I'll create a timetable for you to follow." I explained, shaking my head in dismay. "We'll start now."

* * *

"Come on Lela!" James shouted encouragingly, one afternoon in the Room of Requirement. "You've got a happy memory with no strings attached! You have to at least try it... You can't be scared of failing." He whispered the last part.

I looked at Remus sitting at a table across the room, playing cards with Peter and sighed. Sirius was watching me intently, standing next to James who was jumping up and down in anticipation. And I mean literally jumping.

"Alright James, relax." I thought of the memory I had chosen. I was six or seven years old playing Quidditch with Regulus, Sirius, Narcissa, Andromeda, and Bellatrix. The teams were 3v3; Sirius, Narcissa, and Andromeda, and Bellatrix, Regulus, and me. Needless to say, my team won 210 to 40.

I hadn't thought of it before because I was thinking about the recent events. Regulus suggested I dig deeper into my past when I was a care-free little girl.

" _Expecto Patronum_!" I said, silver wisps shooting from my wand, slowly forming into a solid ball. It flickered out.

"Yes!" James shouted, pumping a fist in the air. "That's the memory you need to use! Just... Your thinking about it too much."

"What do you mean? I have to think of the spell. I have to think about the memor-" I was cut off by Sirius.

"No! He means you need to emerge yourself into the memory, in a way. Say the spell but place yourself in it emotionally. Feel the emotions you felt then, rather than thinking about how you felt."

I nodded, concentrating on Sirius' words as they echoed through my head. I held out my wand and recited the spell, before delving into the memory.

 _Regulus flew forward as I watched the game from above. Bellatrix was beating bludgers at Andromeda, the other team's chaser, Sirius deflecting them towards Regulus. He swerved through them and scored, Andromeda barely missing the Quaffle._

 _Out of the corner of my eye I spot the snitch. It was right next to Narcissa's ear, a little behind her head so she couldn't see or hear it._

 _I turned to Narcissa, the other seeker and grinned. "We're winning!"_

 _"It's 50-40 Lela! We can easily catch up and crush you!" She smirked._

 _I heard the cheering of Regulus and Bellatrix below. "Correction: 60-40." It was all I needed. I leaned forward on my broom and headed straight for Narcissa. As expected, she shot out of the way, not ready to see me hold the snitch up in the air triumphantly. "We win!"_

I suddenly feel the animal burst from my wand before I open my eyes to look.

"What is _that_?" Sirius asked, glancing at my Patronus as it skittered over to me. I looked at is closely and laughed.

"It's a raccoon! I was reading on corporeal Patronuses at dinner last night and Severus, Narcissa, Goyle, and Regulus were debating about what mine would be. Regulus bet that I would have a scorpion Patronus because of my aggressive, cold exterior and soft, emotional interior."

Sirius snickered and James cuffed him on the back of the head.

"Narcissa thought I'd have a wolf since I'm super stubborn and fierce. Goyle figured I'd have a snake because he's a dimwit and can't think of out of the box. I mean honestly! I'm a Slytherin!" I continued, "Severus guessed a raccoon though because I'm secretive, curious, charismatic, and unpredictable. I didn't know who to agree with so I simply didn't say anything though obviously I thought Goyle was being stupid. I figured I was a pretty decent mix of them all. I guess now we know which one suits me best." I grinned, gently petting the raccoon's head before it disappeared in an small burst of light.

"Snivellus got something _right_?" Sirius cracked up.

I looked at him with a bored expression. "I don't know why you're laughing, cousin. He's smarter than you." And with that I left the Room, giving Remus and Peter a quick wave and smirk as I went.

* * *

Severus looked up as I skipped towards our meeting spot in front of the common room. He gave me a questioning glance as we walked towards our last class of the day, potions.

We got to class with five minutes to spare and set up our cauldrons and ingredients next to each other. "Why are you so happy?"

"Am I not allowed to be happy?"

He smirked. "Is this about last night's dinner discussion?"

"What makes you say that _Severus_?" I asked, grinning.

"Because of your smile. I'm not saying you're never happy, but you usually keep it on the inside. I think you just recalled your happy memory and achieved something because of it."

I nodded and his smirk only grew. "I did it, Sev!"

"Was it a raccoon?" I nodded, smiling and his eyes widened disbelievingly. "You're not for real are you?"

"As real as my skin and bones."

He hugged me then. Like, picked-me-up-and-spun-me-around hugged me. And in all seven years that I've known Severus Tobias Snape, not once had he hugged me. He hadn't even really given me a pat on the shoulder either. So I did what was only natural, I hugged him back.

He pulled away from me and held me at arm's length. "I'm so happy for you Lela. You've been working on this for almost a year."

I smiled and ran a hand through his clean hair, messing it up. He scowled at me before asking something I never thought he'd ask me. "Would you teach me how to create one? I can make a somewhat decent incorporeal, but I'd like to learn what animal I share qualities with."

"Of course I'll help!" I smiled as we took our seats, people beginning to flow into the room.

"Where will we meet?"

"The common room at midnight." I whispered, not quite wanting to show him the Room of Requirement, but not wanting any interruptions either.

"You're going to get me into so much trouble aren't you?" He asked warily, placing his head in his hands, acting as though he had a headache.

I grabbed his hand, lacing our fingers together, catching his attention, making him look me in the eyes. I grinned but said in all honesty, "Always."


	4. The Changing Patronus

**Chapter Four**

 _ **The Changing Patronus**_

Later that night I couldn't sleep. It was only 10:45 at night and I was meeting Severus in the common room at midnight. Surely he wouldn't be up this early?Getting up from bed, I tip-toed towards the door, wand in hand. As soon as I got into the hallway and closed the door behind me, I whispered, "Lumos!"

Looking up, I saw Regulus' face inches from mine. I jumped, startled, and he put a hand over my mouth. "Shh… I came to help you and Severus."

I nodded slowly and he uncovered my mouth, smirking slightly. He gestured for me to follow him and turned around, walking down the stairs towards the common room. I followed close behind, trying not to trip on his night time robes.

"Why are you wearing robes?" I asked out of nowhere.

"That's what you're worried about right now?" He gestured for me to be quiet for a moment and quickly went around the corner. I saw a soft light glowing and my heart raced. Were we about to get caught? It was only the common room but bedtime was 10:00 so it could be considered 'out past curfew.' Regulus came back with a smile on his face and I released the breath I hadn't known I was holding. "It's only Severus. Come on."

I walked around the corner of the stairway and was met with the dimly lit common room. Next to the fire, as Regulus said, was Severus, sitting in a small chair reading a book. As I got closer, I realized it was my old book… On Animagi.

"What are you doing? Where did you get that?"

Severus looked up from the book at me and Regulus. Standing, he walked over to me and handed me the book. "I asked Professor McGonagall if I could check it out from the restricted section because I wanted a more challenging read."

"But how-"

"I remember it from last year when you checked it out with Slughorn's... Permission." Severus smiled at my dumbfounded expression. "Are you ready to start? I see no reason to wait around seeing as it'll just be us three."

"Yeah, sure. But since there are more of us than I thought and we're earlier than planned, we'll have to go somewhere else. Just… Follow me and whatever you do, don't get caught.

* * *

I was hiding behind a statue in the trophy room when someone cleared their throat.

"Now what are you doing up at this hour, Lela?"

"Lily?" I whispered, unsure. I got up from behind the statue, happy that Regulus and Severus hadn't been spotted.

I looked up to see a small light shining in my face. Tapping the wand to make the light dimmer, I could just see though the light to a shock of red hair.

"What are you doing? Those boys had best not be with you or you'll all receive detentions!"

"No! No, I'm not with James and Sirius."

"Then why are you up past curfew? You could lose major house points and get a detention. Give me one good reason I shouldn't report you to your head of house."

"Because…" I tried to think of an excuse quickly. "I-I… Think I'm pregnant."

"What?" Lily asked, dropping her wand all together.

"Erm… Yeah. I didn't want anyone to know till I could tell the father which is what I was going to do. Yep... Right now."

"Oh, Lela… Why did you have to pick midnight to do this? Couldn't this have waited till morning?"

"I… No, it's eating me alive! I just, don't know what to do!"

"Who's the father? Is he not Slytherin?" At the sight of the 'guilty' look on my face she gasped. "It's not James is it?"

"No! No, it's... Sirius! James isn't that irresponsible." I said off the top of my head.

"Aren't you dating his little brother?"

"Yes…" I said glumly. I hated lying to Lily but I had to get out of the situation without a scratch so I could get to the Gryffindor tower and get the invisibility cloak from James. Then I could go back to the trophy room and get Severus and Regulus so we could make it safely to the Room of Requirement.

"Okay, okay, I'll take you to the common room so you can talk to him. Just, don't do this again okay?" Lily fidgeted, uncomfortable with what I told her. I would've picked something milder but I had to ensure I'd get to James and not get in trouble.

So far, so good.

* * *

"Thanks again Lily," I whispered softly as she let me into the Gryffindor common room. "I know my way from here."

"Okay. I'll see you around, then. And could you tell… Um… Could you-"

"I'll tell him."

Lily smiled slightly, looking relieved. "I'm still mad at him but… Well, I know he's still a good person deep down."

"Of course." I waved at Lily as she walked away and slipped into the common room. Just as the Slytherin common room was dark and green and silver, the Gryffindor's was opposite. It was bright, red and gold everywhere, but still dimly lit seeing as it was almost midnight. I checked my watch—11:30—and sighed. This would have to be quick.

I raced up the steps to the seventh year boys dormitory. Without knocking, I walked in to see Remus sitting in bed reading a book by the light of his wand. In the bed next to him was Peter, fast asleep.

In the bed nearest the door were Sirius and James, whispering about something. I cleared my throat.

The two boys' heads snapped in my direction and James gave me a large grin.

"What can we do for you?" He whispered, trying not to wake Peter.

"James I need to borrow your cloak tonight," I said, cutting to the chase.

"Ooh… You've got to have a good reason for that," Sirius smirked.

"I'm meeting someone in the Room of Requirement to… Have sex."

"What?" Remus whisper-shouted from across the dorm.

"Bloody hell! Lela is scoring before you, James." Sirius smirked.

"Shut up!" James punched Sirius in the shoulder. "I guess you can use the cloak for that, just… Don't… get anything on it, you here?"

"Thanks! You're a lifesaver!" I whispered with a grin. James got up from Sirius' bed and shuffled over to his trunk. Walking back, he folded the flowing material and put it in my arms. I gave him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek before looking at Sirius. "Oh.. I ran into Lily in the hall and she was going to punish me for being out after curfew so I said something that would make her not punish me."

"Okay…?" He looked at me skeptically.

"The reason I'm telling you is because she's likely to be mad at you and I want you to know what it's about so you can go along with it. Yeah?" I sighed in relief when he nodded. "I told her you got me pregnant. Okay bye guys!"

I slipped out of the dorm and closed the door behind me, trying not to laugh at the face Sirius had made. Suddenly the door opened behind me and I'm spun around. "Sirius?"

He smirked at my shock. "If Lily thinks we had sex, I've got to at least be able to do this."

His lips crashed onto mine in a swift motion. My arms automatically went to wrap around his neck, my fingers playing with his dark, curly hair. The kiss was over almost as suddenly as it began.

I looked at Sirius' smirk and grinned. His pupils were dilated and he was panting, sort of like a dog. I laughed quietly, "nice doing business with you."

* * *

I got back to the trophy room, the cloak thrown over me. "Sev!" I whispered. A light started to glow and I quietly walked over to it, seeing Severus and Regulus hiding behind a trophy case. I took off the cloak. "Thank Merlin you two weren't caught!"

"You're not actually… You know…" Regulus asked, looking uncomfortable.

"Haha no… No, I just needed Lily to take me to Gryffindor tower so I could grab this." I held up the invisibility cloak. "It's a cheap one Sirius bought a couple weeks ago in Hogsmeade. I wanted to borrow it so we won't get caught going to the Room."

"What room?" Severus asked, still looking at the cloak.

"The Room of Requirement. Now come on, we're running out of time. It's almost midnight and no one can speak of the cloak or the room. Got it?" I smiled when they nodded. "Then let's go."

* * *

"Expecto Patronum!" I shouted, remembering the happy memory I'd chosen. Right away, a small creature scurried out of my wand and through the air towards Severus. "Lily said hi, even though she's still mad at you," my voice echoed through the animal.

After relaying the message the raccoon raced back to me and disappeared into the air.

"Blimey… That was amazing!" Regulus said, a smile on his face.

"Thanks, Reg." I turned to look at Sev. "Okay, now that you know what to do, why don't you try?"

"Um… Okay." He closed his eyes for a moment before reciting the spell, "Expecto Patronum!"

A ball of silvery blue light exploded from the tip of his wand and made its way towards me, slowly. I looked at it closely and saw something there, an animal it looked like, but it was all balled up so I couldn't tell what it was.

After a moment the light winked out and Severus sat down, hard. "Oh! I almost forgot! I brought chocolate for you guys because casting this spell takes a lot of energy and happiness." I break off a piece and hand it to him.

"Whenever you're ready." I said when he finished. Severus nodded at me and stood up shakily but determined.

He tried again. This time the ball burst from his wand and slowly opened to reveal an armadillo. I smiled and looked at Severus who had his eyes closed in concentration. "Sevvy! Look!" He slowly opened his eyes and smiled when he saw the armadillo. It started to scuttle around and move toward me but it began to change. Slowly the armadillo morphed into a doe which pranced around the room with grace. I gaped. Had the Patronus just… changed?

As it jumped over me another thing happened; it slowly formed back into a ball and became a raccoon, just like mine. It then changed back into a doe and exploded in a shower of light.

"What," I began, still gaping in shock, "just happened?"


	5. Professor Slughorn's Party

**Chapter Five**

 ** _Professor Slughorn's Party_**

"Ah, Lela dear. How marvelous it is to see you! And Severus! Why you sneaky Slytherin! You brought such a beautiful date to the party!"

Severus blushed as I cleared up the situation. I leaned in to whisper to the professor, "Sir, I was going to bring my fiancé, but he had previous engagements. I decided that since Severus was going anyway, I'd be his date."

Professor Slughorn looked mildly shocked before he regained his composure. "Why of course! You two are my top Slytherins! Just _above_ a very lovely Gryffindor girl, Lily Evans. She has the nicest red hair. Do you know her?"

"Of course we know her Professor!" I said cheerfully, ignoring the fact that Severus stiffened next to me. "Come, Severus. Let's find seats next to each other."

We walked into the small, unused classroom and looked at the table in wonder. Nine spots. Nine seats to choose from. But as we got closer, I looked and realized there were nameplates. _Bloody hell_.

I circled the table, looking for my name before spotting it. _No_! I thought to myself. _This night can't get any worse!_

I sat down in the chair quietly, ignoring the red head seated next to me. She turned to me and smiled. "Lela! Oh it's so good seeing you here! How's your um… _Situation_?."

I faked a small grin back at her. "I'm in Slytherin so… Not very forgiving."

Her smile faltered, "oh... Well that doesn't have to mean anything! Do you know what you're going to do with it?"

Something about how she said 'it' rubbed me the wrong way which was funny because I wasn't even pregnant. I sighed, "I'm either going to put it up for adoption or get an abort-"

Lily winced at the mention of 'abortion'. "No! You-you can't do that Lela… That's murder… Um, how did Regulus take the news?"

"Disgusted, as he should be." I didn't know how to change the subject without coming off as rude.

Lily frowned and changed the subject for me.

"You know I heard Mary talking about how she has a crush on…" She kept making small talk with me and every once in awhile would say something clever, but I couldn't shake the betrayed looks Severus shot me throughout the night.

* * *

"I'm _sorry_ , okay? She just kept talking and I couldn't exactly be _rude_ -"

"Yes, you could've. You have been before." He turned around and stalked away, leaving me alone with Professor Slughorn.

I turned towards the man, keeping my head straight for the real reason I was there. "Professor... Can I ask you something?"

"Why you just did my dear. But sure, you can ask me another one." He smiled at me and waved his wand, all the dirty dishes disappearing.

"What's a horcrux?"

He whipped his head in my direction, looking at me with wide eyes. "Where did you hear that word?"

"Well, I was reading up on the dark arts—don't look at me like that Professor, I'm not going to turn evil or anything. I was reading up on it for my NEWTS—I need to pass DADA in order to become an auror." I looked at him with an exasperated expression. "I just realized I was rambling. The point is, Professor, that I was wondering what they do and how to destroy them."

"Well, I suppose I could tell you that much. Mind you, last person I told about them was Tom Marvolo Riddle who you may know as You-Know-Who." He whispered the name and I gasped, but kept silent so he could continue. "A horcrux is a dangerous piece of dark magic. It is where a witch or wizard splits their soul, rips it in half in a way, and puts it inside an object with magical qualities."

I conjured a horrified look, "and how or why would one do that?"

Professor Slughorn looked around, as if making sure no one could hear them. "In order to create a horcrux, one must kill—willingly kill—another person and use that power to split their soul and insert it into an object of their choice."

"But _why_ , Professor?"

"To preserve them. If the soul in their body should die, then the remaining piece would stay alive, meaning the person couldn't, in theory, be killed."

"Could you split your soul more than once?" I asked, trying to remember which questions I was supposed to say.

"Yes," his voice was barely a whisper. "You could split it many, many times. But it's time for bed and you're out after curfew. Go on to the common room dear. If you get caught by someone, send them to me and I'll sort it all out."

"Yes Professor, thank you. Good night Professor." I walked out of the small, abandoned, unused classroom and headed the opposite direction of the dungeons. I walked down the halls quietly, towards the staircase and followed the layout of the halls in my mind.

I reached the gargoyle statue and said the password, oddly enough it was 'pumpkin pasties,' and scaled the stairs towards his office.

"Ah, yes Miss Vallor. I was wondering if you forgot about me. I almost went to bed." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and I knew he wasn't angry.

"Yes, sorry Headmaster. I got caught up." The argument with Severus was unplanned. If all had happened like we wanted, I would have been here ten minutes ago.

"Do you have the memory?" He asked and I nodded.

"How do I take it out Professor?"

He walked around to the side of the desk I stood on and opened the drawer, pulling out some Muggle lemon candies. "Lemon drop?"

I sighed and took one with a quiet thanks and watched as he went to a cabinet across the room and pulled out the pensieve.

"You have to think of the memory clearly Miss Vallor. Close your eyes and place your wand on your right temple. Imagine the memory being sucked out of your head by your wand. Good, good. Now bring your wand slowly away from your head. Slowly now. Yes! There you have it."

I opened my eyes and looked as the silvery liquid-like substance hung from my wand. I walked over to the pensieve that Dumbledore placed in the air and tapped the memory into the dish.

"Let's see how much Horace knows about horcruxes." Dumbledore said quietly. I placed my head in the pensieve and was overcome by my memory from not even ten minutes earlier.

* * *

I opened my eyes only to immediately close them again. Too much white... I groaned in pain and slowly opened my eyes again. As my eyesight adjusted, I heard someone talking to me.

"-all we know is what Dumbledore said... Are you sure you're all right?" I looked at person talking to me and blinked in confusion.

"Who-who are you?" I asked the sandy haired boy with light scars and warm brown eyes.

"What do you mean?" He looked puzzled.

"Who are you?" Why was some seventh year I didn't know sitting by my bed in what I presumed was the hospital wing?

"I'm Remus Lupin... I've been your friend since fourth year."

"I don't know you... And besides, that doesn't make any sense. I'm in my third year." I said shaking my head, but immediately regretted it as the pounding headache I sported worsened. "Ow…"

"Madam Pomfrey!" The boy named Remus yelled, and the nurse scuttled in.

"Oh Miss Vallor. We're so pleased you're awake! Dumbledore didn't exactly tell us what happened but I assure you that-"

"She doesn't remember me!" Remus panicked. He sat down in the chair by the bed I was in and held his head in his hands.

"Go get the Headmaster. And her Head of House. They should be in the Great Hall for dinner."

Remus rushed out of the infirmary. "Can you tell me what happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked in a gentle tone.

"All I remember is going to Care of Magical Creatures class and being knocked on the back of the head."

"Miss Vallor that happened in your third year here at Hogwarts. I don't understa-"

Professor Dumbledore walked in with Remus and Professor Slughorn in tow. He looked at me with a sad look. "How much does she remember?" He questioned Madam Pomfrey.

"Up until the end of her third year. I suppose she'll have to remake some friends like Mr. Lupin here. Most of the people she is close to, she's know for longer, so it's only a matter of two or three people I believe."

"I understand. May I speak to her alone?" He asked, and everyone nodded, walking away. "How are you feeling?"

"I have a killer headache Professor. What exactly happened? Am I not in my third year anymore?"

"No, my dear, you are in your seventh year. Do not panic! I'm afraid you suffer from a mild case of amnesia. We were about to look at one of your memories in the pensieve in my office. Something went wrong when you entered the pensieve but I do not know what—something that wiped the last few years from your memory. Because of the backfire, the memory we took out was destroyed so we cannot look at it. Which means I must remind you of an important decision you made last summer. You agreed to marry Regulus Black."

I was in shock. "Oh..." I pulled the chain with the ring from beneath my shirt. "Then that's what this is."

"Yes," said Dumbledore sadly. "I will bring Severus in to explain everything that has happened to you. Maybe something he says will jog your memory."

"Is there not a potion for this Headmaster?" I asked.

"Professor Sprout is looking for some plants that are rumored to help your case and Professor Slughorn is researching for a potion that might be of some use. Other than that, Miss Vallor, I'm afraid there's nothing that we can do other than tell you what happened as accurately as possible." He looked me in the eyes, his losing their sparkle quicker than you could say 'Sev.'

"Please try to get some rest. It will do you some good." And with that, I was left alone.


	6. New Friends

**Chapter Six**

 ** _New Friends_**

"Where did we meet?" I asked the boy, sitting across from him in an abandoned classroom during his break. Apparently I was supposed to be in Charms, but Dumbledore said I needed to rest my strained mind and re-get to know my friends. Of course I accepted without any arguments.

"Erm... It was a Slytherin vs. Gryffindor Quidditch match and Sirius was bragging about James' chaser skills and how they were going to crush Slytheri-"

"Erm... Blimey I didn't think this would be hard to say but... Remus? Why are we friends? I mean, I'm not all that charming."

Students started filing into the classroom, making Remus and I stand up from where'd we'd been talking just moments before.

"No, you can be charming to whom you want. I've seen it. Now, come on. I need to tell you something." He grabbed my hand and started to pull me out of the classroom heading in the direction of the library, but quickly running past it.

I planted my feet right before we reached the staircase. "Erm... Remus, can't you just say it here?" I was still slightly uncomfortable in his presence, enough to know I didn't want to be alone with him.

He shook his head, frowning. "I-it's important and I d-don't want anyone to hear." He cleared his throat and continued. "Back when we were friends... I never told you an-and if I don't tell you now, I'm afraid I'll never work up the courage."

I looked at him curiously and sighed. Nodding my consent, I let myself get dragged out of the castle. Once outside, we walked across the grounds, Remus still holding onto my hand. I wiggled my fingers and he finally let go. I looked at where we were and stopped.

"I can't be seen at Hagrid's! I'll get in major trouble and I'm afraid Walburga may already be mad at me."

"Why would she be mad?" He asked, after explaining that we weren't going to Hagrid's, just passing by it.

"Because I lost my memory and she might be mad if the wedding is cancelled or postponed." I sighed. From then on, I kept my eyes on the ground and followed Remus, only looking up when he stopped in front of me. I crashed to the ground, landing on Remus, and gasped, the breath being knocked out of me. I rolled off of him and laid to the side, "Sorry Remus."

He didn't say anything, but got off the ground and helped me up. That's when I noticed where we were.

The Quidditch pitch.

"Why are we here?" I asked as he smiled at me lightly. We walked across the empty pitch sat down in the small circle in the middle.

There was a long moment of silence, one that surprisingly wasn't uncomfortable, but definitely not expected seeing as I'd just asked him a question.

I looked him in the eyes questioningly. He simply shook his head at me, looking sad. "This was always your favorite place to go," he finally whispered. He sighed, "I guess I just thought... I thought maybe if you came here..."

"Oh." I said quietly. I understood. He was hoping I would start to remember.

 _"Regulus!" I screamed, landing my broom next to the unconscious boy. He had the golden Snitch clutched in his left hand, the look of pain on slowly fading from his face as he passed out._

 _I was in my fifth year at Hogwarts and on the Slytherin Quidditch team as a chaser with Regulus (our seeker), Emma Vanity (the captain and a chaser), Evan Rosier (our team's keeper), Lucinda Talkalot (a beater), Bartemius-Barty-Crouch Jr. (our other beater), and Adrian Pucey (our third chaser)._

 _Madam Ross blew her whistle, signaling the end of the match and glanced at me and Regulus but I waved her off. I'd find a way to help him to Madam Pomfrey._

 _Hooch, the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain and beater walked over to my kneeling figure. "I'm really sorry, Vallor. I only meant to scare him away from the Snitch... I thought he would back down."_

 _I sighed quietly and forced a small smile. "It's okay... I mean, you're competitive sure, but you wouldn't just hurt him on purpose."_

 _"Is there anything I can do?" Emma came up to us. Hooch scurried off after receiving a glare from the Slytherin captain._

 _"Will you get Madam Pomfrey?" I asked and Emma nodded telling Adrian to go fetch the nurse._

 _"I wanted to talk to you Vallor. As you know, I'll be leaving Hogwarts at the end of the year. I was wondering if I could pass down the position of captain to you."_

 _"O-of course Emma!" I grinned and she smirked back at me._

 _"You guys better win. Lucinda will be mad I didn't choose her. Crush the other houses for me, will ya?"_

 _"Always."_

"Lela!" Remus was shaking me awake. I sat up with a groan and immediately laid back down as my vision swam. I held my head in my hands and tried to stop the pounding. Remus laid down in the grass next to me and stayed silent, letting me calm down. After a while he whispered, "Did you remember something?"

"Yeah," I replied, still trying to digest the memory myself. "It was about Quidditch. I'm the captain? Huh… Figured it would've been Lucinda."

"Yeah," Remus smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm happy for you."

I laid there silently for a moment, just thinking about the memory, trying to absorb it. But a sudden realization struck. "Um... Remus, what did you want to tell me?"

He looked uncomfortable for a moment, like he was wrestling with some other person or thing inside of him, deciding whether or not he should tell me.

Sighing he flipped over onto his side to look directly at me, "This is really hard for me to say out loud willingly. James, Sirius, and Peter found out by themselves and confronted me about it. We've been friends for years now Lela, even if right now you don't remember that. Our friendship... I'm trusting you with this. I want to be honest with you. Give you a chance to run as much as I may want you to stay."

I nodded at the information and tried to smile reassuringly, encouragingly. He was nervous and I wanted to make this easy for him, even if I didn't really know him.

He looked around as if to make sure no one was watching us. No one was.

"I'm a werewolf." He whispered, looking down in shame.

I gasped as an explosion of pain burst through my body, concentrated in my head, of course. I stood up so I could think. Then I understood. I stared at him with wide eyes realizing that I already knew. I knew.

Remus must have seen my troubled expression and taken it as one of fear, "Lela? A-are you scared of me?"

I could only shake my head, big mistake. Black dots started to dance in front of my eyes and as the edges of my vision started to turn black, I started to sway.

"Lela!" Remus cried, panicking, catching me as I fell.

I looked up at the sandy haired boy with chocolate brown eyes and smiled slightly, glad to be with my new friend. I started to feel light-headed and distant.

Then darkness.

* * *

I woke up with a massive headache and a cold hand holding my limp one gently. "Severus," I breathed as I saw who it was.

I looked around to see that it was dark in the Hospital Wing. The second time I was here this month! Next to me, Severus was sitting in an uncomfortable looking chair, peacefully sleeping. I stared at him, not remembering a time where I ever saw him like this. No stress, no pressure.

I smiled then, because I knew that somehow my memory loss would be worth it. Would be worth my pain. It was fate as some people might put it. It was just meant to happen. Perhaps this was to help my biased friends join hands and forget their rivalry.

Whatever the reason, it would be worth it. I would make it worth it. Because if I was going to lose myself, I would at least heal the people I loved in the process.

I looked over at my sleeping friend, the one I started to call my Half-Blood Prince in second year. "You'll see Sev. It'll be worth it."

* * *

Tito flew through the air, landing on my shoulder, a letter in his beak and a parcel clasped in his talons. I scratched his head affectionately, my way of thanking him. I took the mail and let him nibble a piece of bacon before he flew off, his black and white feathers shining in the light.

Regulus grinned at me from across the table. "What has Tito the Magnificent brought you today?"

I looked at the letter first, recognizing the elegant handwriting immediately. "It's from Aunt Walburga."

Regulus' eyes widened marginally, but I noticed. "Oh," he said simply. "Are you going to read it?"

I nodded, not looking at him. I felt numb. I slowly flipped it over to the back and forced myself to peel off the wax seal. Opening the envelope, my fingers trembled as they took out the letter.

I feared the worst and couldn't control my nerves. Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself to unfold the letter and read it.

 _My dear Lela,_

 _I was very sorry to hear about your condition. Amnesia! You would think there would be a way to fix this with magic, or a responsible enough staff to prevent it from happening in the first place._

 _Professor Dumbledore sent your parents a letter with the details and they owled Orion and me right away._

 _I trust it was explained to you about your engagement with my son Regulus?_

 _However, as I do not wish for you to be uncomfortable with the situation, Orion and I thought it best to postpone the wedding till you regain all of your memories, however long that takes._

 _As Regulus is only in his sixth year and you in your seventh, the original plan was for you two to be married the summer after you graduate. If you do not regain your memories by then, the wedding will be rescheduled for a later date._

 _Orion and I wish you well,_

 _Walburga Black_

I handed the letter to Regulus and turned to the package. It was small and the name on it, my name, was written in sloppy handwriting, one I didn't recognize. I unwrapped the outer layer covering the box and gently opened it.

Sitting inside was a charm bracelet with a dog's paw print charm, a set of mini deer antlers' a little rat, a crescent moon charm, and a small mask charm. All were already connected to a simple cord bracelet with a thin metal strip, almost like a nameplate.

Carved into the metal piece was the word 'Marauders.'

Also inside the box was a ripped piece of parchment with a couple sentences:

 _Welcome to the Marauders, Coon. When you're in danger, summon one of us by touching our specific charm and saying that person's name._

 _-Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs_

 _P. S. Meet us by the Black Lake for lunch._

I quickly shoved the note deep into my robes pocket and asked Regulus to help me put the bracelet on.

* * *

"Lela! I found it'" Severus whisper shouted. We were in the library; I was doing Charms homework and Severus was looking through Potions and Herbology textbooks.

"Found what?" I asked, my eyes not leaving my eleven inch essay. It was supposed to be twelve.

"Look here." He handed me the book grinning and pointed to a passage under the heading Memories.

I quickly read it. "Empythine? How has Dumbledore not heard of this plant? You're not planning on getting all these ingredients to help me get my memory back are you?"

He stayed silent.

"You are aren't you? Empythine only grows in Germany Sev!" I sighed... He didn't seem like he was going to give up anytime soon. I tried a different tactic. "How long have you been researching this?"

"Ever since Dumbledore told me there was no known cure." He sighed and picked up his book and my parchment. He brought his book up to the counter to check out with Madam Pince. When he came back he gave me a small smile, "I was going to visit my aunt in Germany over Christmas break actually."

* * *

 _I was running, sprinting, jumping over tree trunks that were in my way. I was in the Forbidden Forest, running from Remus. I reached a clearing and paused, gasping for breath.  
_

 _I knew I should've kept running but I just couldn't keep going. I glanced up at the full moon and sighed. What had I gotten myself into?_

 _I knew I was being chased. I knew, and for some reason I just stood there._

 _I heard a howl and jumped, startled. Bad move. My foot snapped a branch and I heard a small whimper before silence ensued. I turned around slowly and quietly, intending to keep going, but came face to face with the werewolf._

 _I looked into his golden brown eyes and I instantly knew there was no point. I was trapped._


	7. A Date?

**Chapter Seven**

 ** _A Date?_**

With everyone flying around me, I had to be careful. Professor Slughorn was nervous around me since the incident with the horcruxes (I asked Dumbledore). He hadn't wanted me to hold Quidditch tryouts since my mind was... Fragile.

I'd begged him to let me do it, and made him ask Dumbledore who just said to be careful. I grinned at the memory.

So there I was.

I ducked as a Bludger shot past my head, and whirled around. "TALKALOT!"

"What?" She asked sarcastically, sneering at me. She laughed as I turned away from her, growling. I kept my mouth shut though. I truly hoped someone would be a better Beater than her this year.

I looked around at the Beaters hovering in front of me. The other Slytherins trying out were on the ground or in the stands, watching.

There were six potential Beaters in front of me: Lucinda Talkalot, Barty Crouch Jr., some guy I'd never seen before that looked like a sixth year, Jasper Moon, a second year named Charlie Nott, and Mulciber (a guy in the Slytherin Gang).

I sighed. Last year's Beater got expelled within the first week of school this year and transferred to Durmstrang. Looking at this year's contenders, I missed him.

"Okay! Here's what's going to happen: Talkalot and..." I trailed off, looking at the sixth year.

"Avery," he supplied.

"Yes. Talkalot and Avery will be working on hitting Bludgers through the hoops," I pointed to where the Chasers would be throwing the Quaffle later.

"Barty and Nott are going to be working with me. That leaves Mulciber and Moon. You two will fly 15 laps around the stadium. Nott, Crouch? Follow me."

We flew over to the center of the pitch as everyone began their drills. I landed first, Barty and Charlie following shortly after. "Nott," I said to the girl. "Grab a bat. When I release these Bludgers you're going to hit them up to Lucinda and Avery. After that, I want you to run four laps."

She nodded and I smirked, releasing the temperamental things and she immediately hit both over to Lucinda with one fluid swing. "Nice job! Have you been practicing over summer break like I said?" She nodded. "Great job! If you see that the people flying laps are done early, make them switch out with Talkalot and Avery. Tell them I put you in charge, okay? After that, you can run another four laps and you'll be done. I'll check out your bat skills tomorrow morning before breakfast, okay?"

"Yes, Captain!" She grinned. "I'll make sure Lucinda doesn't kill anyone."

I beckoned for Barty to follow me. We didn't leave the pitch but sat up in the stands, away from everyone else, overlooking the tryouts. He stared at me as I watched by potential Beaters work. Lucinda, of course, was doing good, but I was happy to learn that Avery was just as skilled as her. "What is it, Coach?"

"What position do you want most? Last year you were a Chaser," I faced him fully and noticed his slight smirk. "I'm not going to just give you a position, but the past two years you were a Chaser with me and the year before, you were a Beater. I need to know what position you really want this time. Okay?"

"Yeah..." He grinned, "Honestly, I just want to be on the team. I could be a Chaser with you or a Beater, or even Keeper—though I may not be too great at that last one. Which is position is manliest? One that gets the _ladies_?"

"I think most girls go for Beaters since its violent. They also seem to like Seekers because of the diving and speed. But I'm definitely keeping Regulus as our team's Seeker, so that one is out."

"What position do you go for? Other girls go for Beaters and yet you go for...?" He stopped, waiting for my answer.

"Chasers," I grinned. "I go for Chasers because it shows how well they work with others... As a team. If you don't have a preference, I'll just watch to see which you're best at."

"I guess I'll try hardest to be a Chaser then. Anything to impress you, Coach."

I rolled my eyes at his response and shot him a small grin. Sighing, I got up from my seat in the stands and started to head towards the stairs to go back down to the field. I was stopped by a roughly calloused hand on my wrist.

Barty spun me towards him until we were so close I could feel his breath fan my face. I immediately took a step back as he began talking. "Um... Coach, I mean, Lela... Well, I was w-wondering if you-you'd like to go to Hogsmeade with me th-this weekend?"

I stared. "Like... As a _date_?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, grinning as he looked down at his feet. "Erm... Well, y-yeah... Unless you don't want it to be. I know everyone is saying you're going out with Regulus but..."

I thought about it. Should I really go out with him when I like someone else? Barty wasn't bad, and he seemed sincere enough about going on a date with me, but I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure it was even worth it.

If I said no, it may make things awkward between the team and could cost us the Quidditch Cup at the end of the year.

If I said yes, I'd be starting our relationship based off a lie and would eventually have to break up with him because of my engagement to Regulus. Regulus and I agreed that we could date other people until the engagement was publicly announced, but it didn't feel right to lie.

 _But_ , I reminded myself, _it's not as if you're going steady or anything. He asked you out on one simple date._

One date couldn't hurt, right?

"Um... Lela? You're, making me nervous." He waved a hand in front of my face.

I moved to pull his hand out of my face but he stopped me and smoothly entwined our fingers together, letting our hands fall to the side, out of my face thank goodness.

"Sorry Junior," I grinned at him, trying not to wince at our tangled fingers. It wasn't painful, just... Uncomfortable. "Yes, I'll go to Hogsmeade with you."

"R-really?" He sighed in relief and started to drag me towards the field where the Beaters were starting to gather. "I mean... Of course you'd say yes. I-I'll meet you in the common room tomorrow, and may-maybe we can walk to breakfast together?"

"Sure Junior."

"Oh, by the way," he called to me as he headed over to the section with the Chasers. "Don't call me Junior!"


	8. Nasty Rumors

**AN: Please vote on the poll at the top of my profile!**

 **Chapter Eight**

 ** _Nasty Rumors_**

 _Remus' POV:_

"Did you hear about the Vallor girl?" Remus heard someone say. Melody was sitting diagonal from him at the Gryffindor table during breakfast talking to Frank Longbottom and his girlfriend Alice. Aside from Melody being a Hufflepuff sitting at the Gryffindor table, she was disliked by many for other reasons.

She spread nasty rumors.

Most of them were ones she heard from others but once in awhile she'd come up with her own. Usually those were the nastiest.

"What about her?" Frank asked distractedly, shoveling eggs and sausages onto his plate.

"I heard from a Slytherin girl that she's been dating Barty Crouch Jr. for a couple weeks and that she's pregnant with Sirius' kid."

"What?" Sirius whirled around in his seat next to Melody, accidentally causing one of his pancakes to fly into Remus' face. "Who told you that?"

She stared at Sirius for a moment, seemingly shocked at his sudden outburst. He usually wasn't one for gossip and just ignored the girl but she had caught his attention and it surprised her judging the look on her face. "Lucinda Talkalot."

"Figures," James muttered, grabbing Peter's goblet of pumpkin juice and taking a swig. "She's been a bloody mess in Potions ever since Lela didn't put her on Slytherin's Quidditch team this year."

"Yeah she's a real bitc-" Sirius began but cut himself off when Remus cleared his throat in a reprimanding manner.

"Talking about me?" A female appeared behind Remus and he immediately recognized her voice.

Lela.

"No darling. Just a certain someone that unexpectedly didn't make the Slytherin team this year." Sirius grinned when Lela rolled her eyes.

"Who, Lucinda?" Lela shoved James over a little and crawled under the table to sit next to Sirius. Her head popped up on the other side and she slowly slid out from under the table, gracefully sitting on the bench. "She didn't make it this year because there were people of pretty much equal skill that had a better attitude than she does. I was thinking of letting her become captain next year since I'll be graduating but with all the rumors she's spreading about me..."

"What rumors?" Peter squeaked, "there's more than one?"

Lela sighed and grabbed a cinnamon roll placing it in a container that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. She looked at it quizzically when she was done and a note appeared with it. She looked up across the Great Hall and made eye contact with someone, nodding slightly. She turned to the four Marauders. "Yeah... I've heard four in total so far but all of them are so far fetched. One says that Sirius got me pregnant which is just bloody ridiculous but I sort of came up with that I hear, to throw Lily off… Another says I'm secretly dating Lily but I promise you James, I'm not. The third one says that I'm a follower of You-Know-Who and that we've been having... relations."

"Protected relations I'd hope," Sirius smirked, earning a smack behind the head from Lela.

"That's disgusting!" James took a bite of Lela's second cinnamon roll before taking another gulp of Peter's pumpkin juice.

"Ever heard of getting your own food, mate?" Sirius laughed as James's face turned pink.

Remus stopped eating. "I thought you said you knew of _four_ rumors going around. As disturbing as those sound so far, what's the last one?"

Lela grew extremely uncomfortable all of a sudden and seemed to choke on her own words. She looked with sad eyes at Sirius who reached and grabbed her hand comfortably, as if he knew what she was going to say. "Lucinda keeps telling people that... Regulus and I are engaged."

* * *

 _Lela's POV:_

"Barty! Wait up!" I ran after the boy who'd been so nice to me.

Nice going out with and studying with and practicing Quidditch with and just hanging out with. We'd been dating officially for almost three weeks when the rumors started and he stopped talking to me altogether.

He stopped but didn't turn around. I didn't really know what to say. "I know why you're mad and why you're ignoring me but the rumors aren't true!"

He turned then and watched me struggle to find the right words. We were right outside the Great Hall for dinner a couple days after the breakfast incident and more and more rumors had been added to the pile.

"Deny them all Lela." He said, his voice cold.

"I-I can't... Not all of them Barty. One of them is true but I swear I never meant to hurt you!"

"Which one Vallor," he spat. "The Dark Lord bit or the Sirius one? Or is it how you helped you aunt break out of Azkaban? 'Cause none of that is bloody okay."

"None of those Barty... The one about how I'm... Engaged."

His eyes widened before his look became murderous. "Who forced you into this? Who is making you marry Black?"

I reached into my cloak pocket and pulled out the letter Walburga and Orion had sent me a while ago. Handing it to Barty I turned away and stared at the double doors that separated me from the other students of Hogwarts. Tears formed in my eyes as he read aloud, "I trust it was explained to you about your engagement with my son Regulus?"

"I'm so sorry Barty." I whispered, still facing away from him, but I may as well not have spoken because he ripped up the letter. I whirled around. "What are you doing?"

"You need to live your own life Lela... No one can tell you what to do. But... We're done. You may want to replace my empty position with Lucinda by the way because as of now I'm off the team." With that he returned the ruined letter to me and I sunk down to my knees, sobs wracking my body. My vision blurred as the tears spilled and the rush of air I felt when the doors to the Great Hall opened didn't do anything to help dry my eyes. I slowly drew the wand from my pocket and pointed it at Barty. "Fidelius."

I then turned the wand on myself and pressed it into the side of my head.

"Miss Vallor?" I heard Dumbledore say, but his voice seemed to echo. It seemed so far away. People's heads turned to look at me as I reached into my other pocket for the note I'd received at breakfast the morning everything went to hell.

I opened the small piece of paper from Sevvy and smiled sadly, reading it again.

 _The only way Dumbledore may let me travel to Germany for the Empythine before Christmas break is if he seems to have lost all hope. I have a way of making it seem like there's no hope. I've been looking into spells that make you seem like you're dead but everyone will know you're not. It's called the bewitched sleeping curse. All you have to do is cast it on yourself with my wand and I'll be the only one that can release you from the deep sleep. I wrote the incantation below._

 _-Severus_

I sighed as I saw Dumbledore and McGonagall briskly walking towards me, the Great Hall doors still closing, as if in slow motion. I looked Severus in the eyes, who appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and as he knelt next to me, I said the spell, " _Sopor Dementasset_."

There's a flash of bright purple and I felt Severus replace his wand with mine before everything went black.


	9. The New Girl

**AN: Hey everyone! I know it's been a while but here's the next** **chapter! Please go and vote on the poll at the top of my profile! It's to do with a new story I'll be writing and Lela Vallor will have a small role!**

 **Chapter Nine**

 _ **The New Girl**_

* * *

 _Nyx's POV:_

 _2 weeks later..._

Nyx smiled sadly at the crumpled up Hogwarts letter on her nightstand. Everything was falling apart. She'd been accepted into the school at the age of eleven but her controlling father wouldn't let her go.

She wiped a tear away when a knock came at her door.

"Nyx?" A voice sounded from outside her bedroom. It was her little brother Ajax, a mere eight year old that had only recently gotten his magic. Father had practically growled when he found out. Ajax however, was very excited. He opened the door and peeked inside. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing… Just let it lie, A." She said quietly, picking up a random book from her desk. He walked in silently and sat on the edge of her bed, gently taking her hand in his.

"I know this has to do with Father," he said.

Nyx nodded slightly. "Just because he doesn't understand magic, doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to go to Hogwarts."

They sat in silence for awhile, Nyx finally returning to her book.

Ajax however, was not done. "Can I ask you something?"

She closed her book with a sigh and glanced at her little brother. "Sure, go ahead."

"What happened to Griffin?" The look on his face suggested he knew, or rather suspected what the answer was, but he'd asked anyway.

"A! Father said to never discuss him!" She hissed, her book opening back up.

"Likely because it was his fault!" Ajax said in a loud whisper.

Nyx's book shut with a snap. " _Fine_! You want to know what happened? I was ten, you were two, and he was seventeen. Father had forbidden him from ever going to Hogwarts years before and had told him to never use his magic. For six years he never did. Griffin never used his magic but he became angry and sickly because of it. By suppressing his magic, it began eating at him from the inside. One day it just all became too much and he started shooting off rays of light. _Spells_.

"One of the spells was a bolt of green and hit Mother, killing her instantly. After his fit was done, Griffin had also died because of the pressure." Towards the end of her rant her voice got soft and heavy with emotion. "All thanks to Father."

"But why didn't Mother allow Griffin to go? She was a witch right?"

"Because Father mistreated her."

"Then why didn't she leave him?"

"She knew she couldn't take care of us on her own. I'm turning seventeen in two weeks, AJ. Soon, I'm going to stop letting you come into the room if I'm in it."

"But-"

"There's nothing you can do to change my mind. I haven't used magic since I was six! It's eating away at me, I can feel it. But I won't let it hurt you."

"And _I_ won't let it hurt _you_!" Ajax said strangely. He looked into her eyes with his hand on the top of her head. Nyx gasped as her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out, everything going black.

* * *

 _Ajax's POV:_

"Girl!" Their father bellowed from downstairs. "Fetch me my tea!"

"She's coming, Father! She's just a little under the weather."

"Well hurry up!" He grumbled loudly.

Ajax looked at his passed out sister with a nervous smile. He really hoped this would work. Placing his right hand on his sister's shoulder, he closed his eyes in concentration.

 _Safe._

 _Somewhere safe._

He felt his body twist and turn as the air soon was rushing past him and grabbed onto his sister tighter. When the odd sensation stopped, he slowly opened his eyes to see they were in a hospital wing of sorts. There was an odd looking girl laying in the bed next to theirs with a dark haired boy holding her hand, looking at Ajax with wide eyes.

"Um… Who are you?" He asked, but his voice slowly faded out as Ajax's world went black.

* * *

 _Severus' POV:_

"Dumbledore!" Severus rushed towards the Headmaster's office, a sense of dread filling him. He reached the entrance where a tall gargoyle stood. He only knew the password because Madame Pomfrey trusted him enough to deliver the news of the new girl (and what looked like her little brother). " _Chocolate Frogs_ …"

The gargoyle slowly moved aside and Severus bounded upstairs, not even bothering to knock as he entered Dumbledore's office.

"Mr. Snape. What brings you here?"

"Sir, there are two people in the Hospital Wing that don't go here. They literally just appeared. If I didn't know better I'd say they-"

"Apparated, yes. Of course. I will be there right away. Two people you say? Would you mind fetching Professor McGonagall for me?"

"Of course sir. I'll see you in the Hospital Wing I'm sure."

"Lemon drop?" Dumbledore asked before he could leave, holding out a container of yellow muggle candies.

"Um… No thank you sir. I'll just be on my way." Severus left quickly for McGonagall's office and made it there in record time.

"Professor," he breathed, finally reaching her office and barging in. He quickly explained what he'd told Dumbledore.

"Let's go Mr. Snape. Quickly!"

* * *

 _Nyx's POV:_

She woke up with a massive headache. Opening her eyes quickly she looked around and sighed in relief, she wasn't at home. "AJ?" She looked around and spotted him in the bed next to hers, asleep.

"Miss! You're awake! Oh, thank goodness, we thought you'd never wake up! You were hit with a very advanced sleeping spell." It was a woman dressed in a white dress with a white apron and hat. She looked very high-strung at first glance but Nyx could tell she was a very nice person.

"Oh that was my brother," she remembered. "I suppose he knew I would argue with what he wanted to do, getting us out of there, so he made me faint."

"Get out of where?" The woman asked.

"My house."

Before the woman could ask anything else about her situation, a boy came tumbling in with a very stern looking woman behind him. Behind the woman was an old man with long grey hair and a long greyish white beard wearing a long dark blue robe.

"I told you!" The boy said. He seemed about her age, maybe a little older, and had very sharp features. His hair was very dark, chin length, and seemed to be a little greasy at first glance. On top of that, he was quite pale, and Nyx wondered if he'd stayed inside his entire life.

"What's your name, dear?" The old man asked gently, coming to a stop at the foot of her bed.

"Phoenyx Zegwater… Took my mum's last name after she died."

" _Maeve_ is…?" The nurse seemed horrified. "How… What happened?"

"My older brother Griffin killed her," She said, confused. "How did you guys know my mother? Where am I?"

"Dear," the old man began gravely. "You're at Hogwarts."

* * *

After explaining the entire situation to the old man called Dumbledore, he suggested Nyx stay in the school to be watched over and cared for whilst learning whatever she could.

They were in the Headmaster's office one day and Dumbledore smiled at her from behind his half-moon glasses.

"As you've missed quite a bit of learning here at Hogwarts, I've gathered three of my smartest and most trustworthy students to help tutor you and teach you the basics that you would have learned in your first six years here. However, because you're almost seventeen, you'll be entering you seventh year here. As for exams, you'll take those in the summer." Dumbledore smiled at her wondrous expression. "Any questions?"

"What about my brother?"

"He will stay here until the end of the school year and you two will both be staying with a friend of mine over the summer until you get on your feet."

"Okay, but who are these people that will be helping me?"

"You've met one of them earlier." Dumbledore was interrupted by a soft knocking on his door. "Come in."

Three people entered the room and looked annoyed. One was a girl with long red hair and bright green eyes. Her skin was fair and she could easily be described as 'willowy'. She was very pretty needless to say.

The second person to enter was a tall boy with sandy brown hair and warm chocolate brown eyes. He looked very intelligent and calm, and had a long scratch down the side of his face. He was quite pale and almost looked sickly.

The last person to enter was one she'd seen before. It was the boy who'd apparently found her and her brother Ajax. Upon closer inspection, his eyes were glittering black, it seemed as though he was just crying.

Nyx looked back to Headmaster Dumbledore.

He gave her a small smile and turned his attention towards the three students. "I have brought you three here today because Phoenyx here-"

"I go by Nyx sir," she interrupted quietly.

He nodded. "Nyx here is new to Hogwarts. She hasn't learned any magic before today and I was hoping you three would help her out."

"Of course Headmaster," the girl said with a smile.

"Yes sir, of course." The boy with the scar gave Nyx a shy smile.

"Sure."

"Wonderful! Why don't you go on and introduce yourselves while I get the Sorting Hat and Professor McGonagall." With that, Dumbledore left and the three teenagers looked mildly uncomfortable.

"Erm… I'm Nyx. Nyx Zegwater. My little brother is in the Hospital Wing and his name is Ajax."

"Pleasure to meet you Nyx! I'm Lily Evans, Head Girl here at Hogwarts."

"Remus Lupin," the sandy haired boy said. "I'm a Prefect. Lily and I are both in Gryffindor."

"I'm Snape."

"Is that your first name?" Nyx questioned calmly.

"No."

"You'll have to forgive him," Lily said sincerely. "It's just, one of his friends is in the Hospital Wing in a coma."

"That girl is…? Oh, I'm sorry."

"My first name is Severus, but don't call me that." He said, trying to not look at her directly.

"Alright." Nyx said. She looked around the office space. "Can you guys explain the Houses for me? I wasn't allowed to talk of magic back at home."

As Lily explained the House system carefully, Nyx walked around Dumbledore's office. There were many portraits of wizards hanging on the wall, but what caught her eye was the Phoenix. It looked relatively young, not a baby, but surely it couldn't be very old.

Slowly, she reached a hand towards it and gently stroked the feathers on the top of its head. "And what's your name?"

"Fawkes," Dumbledore supplied, coming back down the stairs, McGonagall at his heels. "I trust the Houses were explained?"

"Yes, Lily told me about them."

"Come then." He walked back to his desk and Professor McGonagall trailed behind him, her mouth pressed into a thin line.

Nyx walked back into the main room behind them and sat in the chair in front of Dumbledore's desk. The old wizard sat on the other side.

Professor McGonagall held onto the hat tightly before placing it on Nyx's head.

 _"Ah, yes… Phoenyx Astra Zegwater-Smith."_

'Don't call me that,' the voice in her head growled at the hat.

 _"Nyx then. Hmm… I remember sorting your mother when she was at Hogwarts. She made a wonderful Slytherin. But you… You're very courageous and selfless, though you may not think it true. Very humble I see, with a desire to learn. You're ambitious and want to prove yourself… Very interesting indeed."_

'What does any of that mean?' Nyx thought quietly. The hat made it sound like she-

 _"You belong in every House, yes. You'd fit in anywhere you went… But where to put you?"_

'I want to be with Lily and Remus,' she thought. 'They seem smart and loyal and nice.'

 _"Alright. Your mother would be proud, you know. Better be..._ GRYFFINDOR!" The hat was slowly pulled off her head and she saw Lily and Remus smiling. She grinned back.

"I think a congratulations is in order." Dumbledore smiled, and with a simple flick of his wand, a messenger bag full of textbooks, parchment, quills, and ink appeared on the desk in front of her. "These are some of your school supplies for this year. Our Head Boy and Head Girl will accompany you to Diagon Alley in an hour for the rest."

He handed her a small pouch of wizarding money with a smile. "Spend it well."

"Thank you sir!" Nyx grinned at the old man and left the office with Lily, Remus and Snape. Once her brother woke up, she'd have to thank him for taking her here.

With only a nod, Snape walked down the hallway and disappeared around the corner.

"Gryffindor is proud to have you," Remus said quietly, a large smile on his face. "You're going to love it."

"Oh this means we're going to room together!" Lily practically jumped in delight.

"Am I not staying with the other Gryffindor seventh year girls?"

"No, the room is filled as it is and because you're a Gryffindor, you'll get to room with me. The Head Girl and Head Boy have their own common room too so you can invite whomever you like, but I advise against inviting Slytherins or James will throw a fit."

"James doesn't hate _all_ Slytherins," Remus cut in, his eyes showing a little sadness.

"Right," Lily frowned. "But she's-"

"Yeah…"

"Are you talking about the girl in the Hospital wing?"

"Yes, she's a friend in our year, Lela Vallor. Probably the only Slytherin any of us like at the moment."

"What happened to her?" They were walking through the corridors towards what Remus called the Great Hall. He told her it was where they ate meals. It was almost lunch.

"Well, um…" Remus seemed to not want to talk about it.

"Sorry Remus," Nyx said quietly. "I didn't mean to pry."

"You didn't pry! It's just a sensitive topic. It only happened a couple weeks ago."

"What Remus is saying, I suppose, is that we'll tell you later."

"Of course." With that, they reached the Great Hall. Lily pushed open the doors and led Remus and Nyx in. There were only a couple people in the area, all of them sitting at the Gryffindor table.

A boy with messy dark hair and glasses came up to Lily and gave her a peck on the cheek. He turned to the new girl with a grin. "This the new recruit?"

"Erm…" She had no idea who this boy was but he seemed close with Lily so she figured she could trust him. "I suppose."

"Well come on then! We'd better eat now so we're not hungry in Diagon Alley." He turned and went back to the table where two other boys were sitting.

Lily gave her a sheepish smile before dragging her over to the table for lunch. "Sorry about him. I sometimes wonder why he was chosen to be Head Boy."

" _He's_ Head Boy?" She looked him over once and thought about it. He seemed to have a child-like nature about him and obviously didn't take certain things seriously (she could see a mischievous glint in his eyes) but overall she could tell he was a good Head Boy. "I can see it I suppose… Just how often does he break the rules?"

"Not much these days unfortunately," another boy said. He had espresso colored hair that ran to his shoulders and sparkling grey eyes. He was quite good looking, as was the Head Boy and Remus she supposed, but the difference was this boy seemed to know it. He shot her a flirty grin. "Sirius Black."

" _Pleasure_ ," she replied, completely overdoing the sarcasm, but the look on his face was worth it. "I'm Nyx Zegwater."

"Zegwater hmm… Wasn't that a well known pureblood family until Cadmus Zegwater's only child married a Muggle?" The Head Boy asked. "I'm James Potter by the way."

"Nice to meet you. And yes, my mother married a _filthy_ Muggle who abused and neglected us and was ultimately responsible for my brother's and my mother's deaths." She picked up what looked like a chicken sandwich and carefully put it on her plate. Fining a bowl of macaroni and cheese, she dished a little on her plate and gently put the bowl back in front of the short boy who hadn't said anything.

" _Wow_ …" Sirius said grimly. "And I thought _my_ home life was bad."

Lily smacked the back of his head before looking at Nyx. "Don't pay attention to him. He seems to have no filter."

"It's alright. Let's just eat," she said quietly, and went to eating her sandwich, listening to Lily and Remus work out a schedule for her private lessons.


	10. The Sleeping Curse

**AN: Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays everyone! Here's a chapter for you all! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter Ten**

 ** _The Sleeping Curse_**

* * *

 _Severus' POV:_

* * *

Severus looked across the hall at the seventh year girls dormitory and sighed. She was still asleep. But not in her dorm—in the hospital wing. It'd been 3 weeks since Lela cast the spell on herself and Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall still didn't know about his switching of the wands or what spell she used. This was simply for the reason that Severus created the spell and therefore was the only person who could wake her up. He was thinking of going to Dumbledore's office later so he could try to convince him to let Severus take an early trip to Germany seeing as he was all caught up in his work for this term, but with Nyx in the equation now, he was rather busy.

But most importantly, would Dumbledore let him go?

"Hey Severus," Regulus said solemnly, approaching the boy carefully. He'd been in a mood since Lela cast the sleeping curse on herself and even though Severus could wake her, he was a lot lonelier without her telling him to bathe constantly. It made him realize how few friends he had. Perhaps he could try with Lily once more? "Um, Dumbledore sent me. He said he'd like to speak with you."

"Alright. Thanks, Black."

"I heard Miss Zegwater is progressing in her studies nicely? She's almost caught up?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and Severus wondered how the man could be happy all the time.

"Yes, sir. I forgot to update you like promised. I apologize, sir. She's doing extremely well. I'd have sorted her in Ravenclaw, myself."

"That's quite alright," Dumbledore said gently. He smiled, "I actually called you here because of a note Miss Vallor was holding when she cast the spell upon herself. Here."

Dumbledore handing Severus the folded piece of paper and he looked at it. It was the section he showed her about Empythine.

"Why are you showing me this?"

"Because I know of your plan, Mr. Snape. And while I think it incredibly risky on everyone's part, I'd like to be of assistance."

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore. I won't let you down."

"There is, however…" Dumbledore continued, "one condition."

"Of course, sir. Anything."

"You cannot break up this arranged marriage of hers. You cannot act on any feelings you have for her. It'll end up hurting you both."

"Yes, sir." Severus began to head out of the office, ready to pack up his things for Germany. He liked Lela, maybe even loved her, but he would protect her however he could.

"Oh, and Mr. Snape?" Dumbledore called from behind his desk. Severus turned to see the old man's eyes twinkling. "Go talk to Miss Evans. Get her to go to Germany with you."

* * *

"You're going _where_?" Lily paced around the Head's common room. James was out trying to teach Nyx some Quidditch techniques so Lily had invited Severus to talk.

"Germany… And I was hoping you'd come with me."

Lily looked at him, at a loss for words. He understood. They hadn't had a real conversation since the beginning of last school year and there he was, asking her to leave the country with him.

"I'm sorry, Sev. I _want_ to fix our relationship, I really do. No matter how angry I may be at the word you used — "

"Lils, I'm sorry — "

"I know, and I'm forgiving you. But go to _Germany_? That's crazy! What about school and — "

"Dumbledore wants us to go." He handed her the article he'd given Lela before she cast the spell on herself and watched as Lily quickly scanned it.

"Sev, where'd you get this?"

"I found it in the Restricted Section a couple days before Lela… I showed Dumbledore and he encouraged me to ask you to accompany me."

"He… Oh, I'll go then. But you do realize just how much schoolwork we'll have to make up?"

* * *

 _Nyx's POV:_

* * *

" _Aww_ … But how am I supposed to get tutored?" Nyx asked when Lily told her the news.

"Ask the Marauders… They're actually quite smart when they're not being foolish. James is great at Transfiguration, Remus will still be helping you out so you'll have someone _sane_ to look to… And Sirius is smart but he never does his work."

"Yeah, well… Speaking of James, what's going on between you two? Are you dating or…?"

"What? _No_! We spoke civilly since we became Head Girl and Boy and we're just friends. He told me he had a crush on me, but that's all it was: a crush. Besides, now that Severus and I are talking again…"

"Y-You like Snape?"

Lily blushed lightly. "Maybe a little."

"If it means anything, I think he likes you too," Nyx commented. "I mean, he's a wreck because of your Slytherin friend — "

"Lela."

"Oh. Yeah, but I think he really cares about you." Nyx smiled slightly. "I asked about James because…"

"Because you like him."

"Yeah. He's sort of childish and immature and stubborn but, he's fun."

"And sweet. And funny. And perfect for you." Lily smiled. "I can't say I know he likes you. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure if he does or not. But I can tell you he'd be stupid not to."

"Thanks, Lily." Nyx sat down in the chair next to the fireplace. "Did Lela have feelings for James? I hate the idea of stealing him from anyone. That is, if he even likes me."

"No… Lela is a complicated person but the one thing I'm sure about is that her and James are like siblings. It was one of the things I liked about her. She could put up with his foolishness and still be… her. We were never close, but when she wakes up I plan on hugging her till someone pries me off. But no, she was dating Regulus for a while and then Crouch for maybe a week or two before he broke up with her. That's when — when..."

"When she cast the spell on herself?" At Lily's questioning look she explained, "James and I talked a little when we went flying earlier."

"Right." Lily turned towards her room and Nyx opened her book on famous historical wizards. "Hey Nyx?"

Closing her book and turning back to Lily, she raised an eyebrow.

Lily smiled at the girl. "Do you want to help me pack?"

* * *

It was two weeks until Christmas break and Lily and Snape had been gone for half that. There was no official replacement for Head Girl while they were gone, but Remus seemed to have added the role to his workload. Nyx and James had been hanging out, going flying everyday.

She had to be honest with herself: she wasn't really a fan of flying, especially in the cold, but she wasn't about to ask James to read with her. Besides, Sirius didn't seem to be a fan of her and Remus only talked to her if they were studying. She missed Lily's presence dearly, especially because Peter hasn't spoken a word to her since she got there. Her only real company was James, so she'd do whatever he wanted.

"Nyx!" She was sitting in the bleachers at the Quidditch pitch as James flew around doing tricks. She looked up to see James floating in front of her, concern written on his face.

"Sorry, um… What is it you were saying?"

"Are you okay?" James hopped off his broom and onto the bleacher next to her.

"Yeah… Fine."

"You're obviously not fine. Why won't you tell me what's wrong?" James sat down next to Nyx and put his arm around her shoulder.

"There's so much that's wrong! I don't even know where to start…"

"Well start by telling me something good."

Nyx gave James a small smile before wiping her eyes hastily so he wouldn't see her cry. "I love spending time with you. You're my only friend here. And before you try to say that you're not, you really are. Remus tutors me but he's so heartbroken over Lela that's really the extent of our relationship. Sirius seems to be mad at me about something and if I had to guess I'd say because I turned down his flirtatiousness right at the beginning but that doesn't sound like him. And Peter never even told me hi! Lily was my friend, is my friend, but she's in Germany with Snape!"

"Shh… It's okay. You've got me." James hugged Nyx tightly and she breathed a bit before continuing.

"That's what makes it so hard."

"Makes what hard?"

"James," Nyx paused for a second before forcing herself to continue. "You're my only friend at Hogwarts right now and I don't want to do anything to ruin our friendship, butImayhaveateenytinycrushonyou…"

"I'm sorry, what?" James gently grabbed Nyx's chin and turned her so she was facing him.

"I may have a teeny tiny crush on you." She said quietly before turning away. "And I know you probably are still in love with Lily and I hope that you didn't secretly harbor feelings for Lela… Oh Merlin what have I done? I-I have to go!"

She looked at James one last time to see him frozen in shock before running back to the castle.

* * *

 _Remus' POV:_

* * *

"Lela… I know that you probably can't hear me right now but I wanted to let you know that everything has been okay around here. Talkalot is on the Slytherin team and Regulus is standing in as Captain. Crouch has temporarily taken your spot as Chaser. I think he feels responsible for the whole 'you casting a spell on yourself' thing.

"Lily and Snape have left for Germany on Dumbledore's orders so I've been filling in as Head Girl so to speak. There's a new girl too." Remus sighed. "She's nice. Smart too. She's in Gryffindor. I think James likes her. Weird that he seems to be over Lily, huh? Anyway, Sirius has been oddly quiet since you left and I just wanted you to know we all miss you."

Remus got up and walked out of the Hospital Wing, the sense of dread growing in his stomach.


	11. Revelations

**AN: Lela's POV next chapter! Hope you guys are sticking with this story even though some of it sucks (in my opinion)! Anyway, here's the next chapter (sorry it took so long).**

 **Chapter Eleven**

 _ **Revelations**_

* * *

 _Sirius' POV:_

* * *

He didn't like the new girl.

If someone asked why, he might say because she was stealing James away from him.

But, that wouldn't be true. No… Sirius didn't like her, because he _really_ liked her, but she had a crush on James.

Not only was it obvious, but James told him.

"Do you like her back, Prongs?" He asked, trying to act noncommittal. If James knew he liked Nyx, he definitely wouldn't say his real opinion.

"I'm not sure. Whenever I'm around her I'm happy, y'know? But, whenever I was around Lela I was happy too. I didn't like her, not like _this_ , I mean. I think Nyx may have been right… I think I'm still in love with Lily."

"Oh," was the response he gave. Sirius didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. He was happy James didn't like her back because it gave him a small chance, but for once he was unsure of himself. She would most likely be devastated when she found out.

He would talk to her tonight.

* * *

"Nyx." He found her curled up on the couch in front of the Head Common Room's fireplace. James gave him the password so he could come in when he wanted. James was sleeping in the dorms that night.

She turned to look at him in alarm, quickly wiping the tears off her face.

He moved towards her and sat down on the couch to her left. She tried to hide her face from him and he let her. She was upset after all.

"Nyx, what's wrong?"

"I knew it. As soon as I said it out loud, I knew. He's in love with Lily. Merlin, I'm such an idiot!" Nyx cried out frustratedly. She wiped at her eyes harshly once more, but Sirius caught her wrists so she wouldn't injure herself. She looked up at him, tears brimming in her eyes. "What are you doing here? I thought you hated me."

"God, no! I came here to say a lot of things I guess." He paused and let go of her wrists when she seemed to not want to scratch her eyes out. "I don't hate you at all, Nyx. Oh Merlin, the opposite really. I really like you, and I know the timing of this is bloody awful because I know you like James, but I couldn't continue ignoring you."

"Why did you never say anything?" she sniffed, instinctively scooting closer to him on the couch. He noticed but didn't say anything about it.

"I knew you liked James and it hurt a little to see you two together all the time. I also am not used to really liking a girl, and I didn't know what to do with those feelings so I just hid away. I didn't realize you thought I hated you." He looked down, but Nyx's slim fingers found their way under his chin and lifted his head up so she could see his face.

"I'm not going to lie to you and say I like you too," she began, and even though Sirius was expecting this, it hurt all the same. "But, that may only be because I never thought of you like that. We never really got to hang out, or goof off and have fun. If we started to do that, I may begin to like you. I just… don't know right now."

He grinned at her. "You'd make a great politician. And I mean that as a compliment."

He leaned in and gave her a hug, her arms quickly wrapping around him in response. He'd never been a huge fan of hugs, he'd give some out a couple times a year around the holidays or when someone was upset, but he could live in Nyx's arms forever and be happy.

When had he become a sap?

The hug was over as soon as it started and Sirius delivered a small kiss on the cheek to her.

It was like someone set off firecrackers and were playing a game of Exploding Snap on his lips. There were sparks. _Merlin, I'm falling hard_ , he thought, and pulled away quickly. _This isn't like me at all_.

Nyx's eyes were wide. "What was that?"

"What? Oh the kiss thing… Sorry, I —"

"No, the electrical shock that came with it."

"You felt it too?" He asked, utterly surprised. "Maybe it was our magic reacting to each other? I think I read about that once, which is very uncharacteristic for me because I'm not a huge fan of reading, but —"

She cut off his rambling by giving him a delicate yet searing kiss on the lips. If he felt a shock before, it was like he was being electrocuted the second time around. He gently kissed her back, not moving too fast as she'd been crying over his best mate not five minutes before. His right hand cupped her cheek and his left rest against her waist. If he could, he would stay there until Death showed up to take him on his next adventure.

And while Sirius was definitely one for adventures, he still might try to stay.

Kissing her erased the other girls from his mind. Despite what a lot of people thought, he never went past second base with a girl. He may be a player, but he wouldn't degrade a woman.

She pulled away before too much could happen and smiled. "I could definitely see myself liking you."

He gave her a boyish grin and a kiss on the cheek before getting up and walking towards the entrance to the Common Room. "Good night, Nyx."

"Night, Sirius."

* * *

 _Severus' POV:_

* * *

They'd been searching for a week but hadn't found enough Empythine for the potion. Empythine was said to grow in the forest by the roots of trees in a large mountainous region in Germany called the Black Forest region.

They'd been searching for a week but were short. "Why don't we try summoning it?"

Severus sighed. Christmas Break at Hogwarts would be starting in three days and he didn't want to leave Lela alone. He knew the blasted Marauders would be going home for break to their families (Black going to the Potter's) and that Regulus would most likely be called home to become a Death Eater.

Lela would be alone, and he couldn't let that happen.

They'd been searching for a week but hadn't used the summoning spell. Severus didn't know if it would work at all, or it all the Empythine the forest had to offer would come flying at them. At this point, they had to try.

Before he could get the spell out, Lily had done it, having likely seen the discomfort on his face. A rather large, moss-like clump came flying at the two, hitting Severus in the side of the head. Lily snickered a little and Severus rolled his eyes, picking up the Empythine.

It was more than they needed, which was perfect. Because Severus was creating the potion himself, it was all an experiment of sorts. He knew one of the two versions of his potion would work, he calculated every likely outcome, but he wasn't sure which one. That's why he would make two potions.

" _Thanks_ , Lil." Severus sighed and quickly apparated them back outside his Aunt's cabin. Knocking on the door, he let himself and Lily in. His Aunt wasn't a huge fan of magic as it reminded her of his mother, so he made sure to use it minimally when she was around.

"Did you find anything?" His Aunt asked from the kitchen. He told her he was looking into medicinal herbs because his friend was in a coma.

"Yes, Ms. Prince." Lily smiled as they entered the kitchen. "But I'm afraid now that we have, we'll need to leave tonight."

"Alright. Well, I'm almost finished cooking dinner if you two want to go wash up. You can leave after dessert, but only if you promise to visit soon."

"I'll be back in a week, tops." Severus replied coolly, a small smile tugging at his lips. "But I'll make sure Lily visits."

"I'd love to come by sometime," Lily added, a bright smile on her face. "I had a lovely time."

With that, they went upstairs to pack and clean themselves up.

* * *

 _3rd Person Omniscient POV:_

* * *

He added three drops of Salamander blood to the potion which went from a dark blue to an indigo color in seconds. Fairy wings, crystallized water, and phoenix tears were some of the other ingredients added. Last thing he needed was powdered Empythine.

The second version called for fresh Empythine.

 _This better work_ , Severus thought to himself. _When I wake her up and give her the potion, this HAS to work._

Remus watched from the potions room doorway in awe, unknowingly thinking along the same line as the Slytherin.

 _This potion has to work_.

If it didn't, he had no idea what he'd do.


	12. Wake Me Up

**AN: I know it's been awhile but here's the next** **chapter with Lela's POV, as promised!**

 **Chapter Twelve**

 _ **Wake Me Up**_

* * *

 _Lela's POV:_

* * *

 _I looked into the werewolf's eyes and gasped silently. I'd never seen one in person before, but I felt like I knew this one. "Remus?"_

 _The werewolf backed up suddenly and I mirrored him. Instead of being two steps apart, we were ten steps away from each other. "Remus, it's me, Lela."_

 _The werewolf whimpered at this and slowly drew closer. I tried to back up further but my back was against a large tree. I was trapped._

 _"Remus please! You're my friend. One of my best friends. You're kinder than James, humbler than Sirius, smarter than Severus and Lily only you keep to yourself so they're at the top of the class. You're the bravest person I know… A true Gryffindor. If you do this now, if you hurt me, I know you'll never forgive yourself. I don't want you to go through any more pain. Please, just… Look at me."_

 _He looked up at me then, looked me in the eyes, and howled. I flinched at the sound and tried to scramble away but he swiped at my back with his claws._

 _I cried out in pain and tried to crawl away but he dragged me through the forest roughly. Whatever had been left of Remus was gone._

* * *

 _"Severus! Watch your bloody mouth!" I flicked my wand at Mulciber, making his tongue grow to about four feet long, and watched as the other two Slytherins fled. Regulus gave me a small pat on the back and quickly walked back to the dungeons._

 _I turned on Severus. "Why would you say something like that? Lily is your best friend!"_

 _"Not anymore," the redhead growled, walking away quickly. If James found out he would have a fit._

 _"Oi! Snivellus!" Speak of the devil… James stormed over with the other Marauders trailing behind him. "Levicorpus!"_

 _I watched as Sev flew up into the air, suspended by his ankle. I quickly turn on James. "Expelliarmus!"_

 _His wand flew out of his hand and into mine. Before the other Marauders could get their wands out, I turned on them. "It wasn't right for Severus to say that, I'm completely aware of that fact. But if you guys go and bully every bully at this school, you're no worse than them! Severus is going to suffer enough today because he lost his best friend. You've finally got Lily to yourself James, so just leave."_

 _Remus grabbed James by the shoulder and gently turned him away. I tossed James' wand to Remus and his eyes began to glow, just like the werewolf's._

 _"No!" I screamed, running as fast as I could towards the Black Lake. The scenery melted before my eyes, however, and I was in the middle of the Forbidden forest. I stopped in confusion._

Why am I in the Forbidden forest, _I thought. I looked ahead of me and saw a figure leaning over a unicorn, drinking its blood. I felt the bile rise in my throat and instantly wanted to throw up. There were voices behind me and I quickly turned around. There were two first years and a dog walking towards her. The dog barked when he saw the unicorn and the blond boy screamed before the two ran away. The one with black hair and glasses stayed and walked closer, as if in a trance. I tried to scream at him to run away, but my voice was silent._

He can't see or hear me _, I realized, startled. The cloaked figure stood and began to fly closer to the boy. It looked at me for a second, before it continued advancing. The boy backed away but tripped over a tree root. I screamed in frustration, knowing I couldn't help the boy that looked like James. Before anything happened, the werewolf jumped out of the shadows, ripping up the cloaked figure. The black haired boy scrambled away in fright and finally ran. The werewolf turned on me and I saw Remus' haunted eyes._

 _I tried to move, but couldn't._

 _I tried to speak, but couldn't._

 _I gave up and watched as the werewolf's claws swiped towards my face._

* * *

I gasped and shot up in bed, pain throbbing in my head. "What happened?" My voice was hoarse from disuse and I remembered casting the spell on myself. I opened my eyes finally and saw Sev standing in front of me. I smiled, "nevermind. I remember the spell."

Severus grinned at me and I couldn't help but smile back. "Did you do it?"

He nodded and I pulled him into a hug, finally noticing the people standing behind him: Remus, Sirius, James, Peter, Lily, Regulus, and a girl I didn't recognize. They were all dressed in casual clothes and I assumed it was the weekend.

"What day is today?" I asked.

"Saturday, December 16th." Remus supplied. I nodded and kept silent.

"Are you up for the potions now?" Severus asked. "Madam Pomfrey doesn't know we're doing this, only Dumbledore does actually."

I nodded again with a grin. "Let's do this. What do I have to take first?"

Severus handed me a small bottle and a spoon. "A spoonful of Pepperup Potion to make sure you don't pass out on us."

I poured a spoonful and grimaced as it went down my throat. "Disgusting," I said with a smirk.

"Next is Dr Ubbly's Oblivious Unction," Lily handed me a cup with a light purple liquid in it. "Drink up."

It tasted like soap.

After that was a memory potion to improve the chances of Severus' potion working. It didn't really taste like much, but had an oddly sour aftertaste.

"Now," Severus said with a little uncertainty. "We don't know which one to give you. I made two different versions, thinking we could give you both if the first one didn't work, but Lily helped me realize only the first one will work, whether it's the right one or wrong one."

"I recommend the indigo one. It has dried Empythine and most medicinal herbs are strongest when dried. The magenta one has fresh Empythine." Lily piped up, Remus nodding in agreement.

I looked to Severus and saw something in his eyes. I gestured for him to come closer and whispered in his ear, "which do you think, Sev?"

He looked down for a moment before whispering, "Empythine is more of a plant than an herb, really."

He backed away after setting the two potions on the table next to me. They all watched, anxiety written on their faces, and I picked up the magenta potion, downing its contents. Lily gasped in surprise, likely confused as to why I didn't pick the one she recommended. Remus looked mildly shocked, and Severus was smiling a little.

All a sudden there was an explosion of pain in my head and I tried to fight off the urge to pass out. I could faintly hear Severus packing up his potions kit and Madam Pomfrey screaming for everyone to get out. They all left and Madam Pomfrey was at my side in an instant. She forced a cool liquid down my throat and I sighed in relief as the the pain ebbed. I sighed, finally getting comfortable, before drifting off into a light sleep.

* * *

 _Severus' POV:_

* * *

"What did you tell her?" James shouted from outside the Hospital Wing, the second the doors closed.

Severus stayed silent and Lily walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What did she ask you, Sev."

He looked at his feet. "She asked what I thought."

"And you said the other one?" James was pissed, that much was obvious. "You thought Lily was wrong?"

"Lily was thinking of Empythine as an herb. Everything she said about herbs was correct, but when making the potion, the Empythine acted more like a plant and —"

"And when making potions," Lily continued, "plants need to be fresh. I assume that's what you told her?"

"He just said, 'Empythine is more of a plant than an herb, really.'" Remus supplied, having been silent till then. "He let her pick for herself."

They were all silent for a moment. James clapped Severus on the back and Severus tried not to flinch. "Thanks," James muttered. "Let us know when she wakes up?"

Severus nodded and Nyx and the Marauders left, Remus lingering for a moment before following.

Lily gave him a small smile and a hug before running to catch up with James.

Severus and Regulus were left. "I'll stay," Regulus said. "Keep her company till she wakes. I promise I'll come and get you as soon as she's speaking."

Severus could only nod. "You'd better, Black."

He was only half joking.

* * *

 _Lela's POV:_

* * *

It'd been a day since I woke up with all my memories intact. My parents asked if I wanted to go home for break, but I refused. If I went, I'd have to attend the yearly Christmas Gala and I wanted to avoid it if at all possible.

I told them that the holidays outside of Hogwarts would be too hectic and that I just wanted to stay in my dorm.

But I didn't want to stay at school.

So James said I could sneak onto the Hogwarts Express and stay at his house along with Sirius over break.

I finally peeled off the invisibility cloak and sat down in the compartment. "Wotcher, Prongs!"

"Hello, Coon! Have you worked on becoming your Animagus?" James smiled, handing me a chocolate frog.

"Not yet. I was planning on working on it after break so your parents would have plausible deniability."

"Smart," Sirius commented, seeming a little distant.

"What's wrong, Siri?"

"Nyx is alone for the holidays." He frowned.

"She's got her brother, hasn't she?" I tried, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "She wanted to stay back with him."

"Yeah, but I was hoping she'd want to spend Christmas with me."

"When did he become a sap?" I asked James with a grin.

"Since Nyx came to Hogwarts," He smiled back. "Pads, you can still send her a Christmas gift. Lela and I can help you pick it out."

"Thanks, guys." Sirius let out a quiet sigh before turning to look at us. "Now, who's up for a game of Exploding Snap?"

* * *

 _James' POV:_

* * *

"I thought you said you were going to bring another friend home too?" James' father asked.

James nodded. "She's under the invisibility cloak, Dad."

"She's what?" His mother gasped. "Why on Earth is she hiding under there?"

"Her family is like mine," Sirius responded. "In fact, our families are friends. My parents are over there with my brother and if they saw Lela, they'd tell her folks and she'd have to go home."

"She just got over her amnesia," James added, trying to convince his parents to let her come with them. "She's been in a coma for a month and her family has this arranged marriage set up, and —"

"Shut up, James!" a female voice hissed. A small hand appeared out of thin air and waved slightly to James' parents. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. I'm Lela Vallor."

"Vallor?" His father questioned, shaking the girl's hand. James' mother did the same. "Your parents are neutral in this war, yes?"

"Yes, sir. But they are only neutral in the sense that they won't become Death Eaters. Sirius' family is worse than mine, there's no sense in comparing them." Lela whispered, tucking her hand back under the cloak.

"Any family intending to match up their daughter with a Death Eater is bad in my book."

"Oh, Regulus isn't —"

"We can talk about this later, right?" James cut her off. "At home?"

His dad nodded. "Alright then. Let's go."

James grabbed onto Sirius and Lela and his mother put a hand on his shoulder. His father grabbed his wife's arm and held onto Sirius just to be safe. "Everyone set?" His mother asked.

James nodded and they were off.


End file.
